Babysitter facing criminal charges
Accused pleads not guilty, set to return for bail hearing as probe continues
A woman who was babysitting her friend’s child is facing criminal charges after police had to rescue the baby from a fire at her Montreal apartment Thursday.
Josée Milot, 49, faces charges of arson by negligence, child abandonment and failure to provide the necessities of life.
Montreal police rescued the one-year-old baby Thursday morning after a neighbour noticed flames at the Dézéry St. apartment building in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district and called out for help.
Due to the intensity of the blaze and smoke, it took eight police officers to rescue the girl, who had been left in her crib.
The baby appeared to be in respiratory distress when officers handed her over to Urgences-Santé, but her life is not in danger.
A preliminary police investigation found that Milot was cooking something on the stove, and then left to visit another apartment. Investigators are still working to determine the circumstances that led to the fire.
Milot appeared Friday via video conference at the Montreal courthouse while being held at a detention centre in Rivière-des-Prairies. While she had a prior court date set on the same day, additional charges were laid in connection to Thursday’s events.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges and is set to return to court for a bail hearing on Tuesday. Following the hearing, Milot will either be released on conditions or remain detained until court procedures conclude.
Milot’s defence lawyer, Antonio Cabral, has defended the accused many times over the past 10 years for charges related to drug consumption, possession and trafficking. He said she’s struggled with substance abuse for some time.
“She’s someone who hasn’t had an easy go in life. She comes from a disadvantaged environment,” Cabral said outside the hearing room. “She had a lot of problems with consumption.”
Despite multiple attempts to lift herself out of her dependence problem through therapy and other methods, Cabral said “her files speak for themselves.”
“I can’t say more on whether (the methods) were successful, but her history tells us it did not bear fruit.”
He added that if Milot is accused of starting the fire by negligence, she could face a maximum of five years in jail.
Roxane Laporte, the prosecutor, argued outside the hearing room that Milot should not be liberated due to the gravity of the infractions, and because the accused has many prior convictions and pending charges already.
“She put the life of the child in danger,” Laporte said. “Mostly, that’s the reason why the Crown objects to the release of Ms. Milot.”
Cabral said Milot’s pending cases and breaches of probation are all criteria that the judge will take into consideration.
“I don’t know if the judge will make a big deal out of that or not, depending on the circumstances which (can) be explained by Ms. Milot only,” Cabral said.