Citing “unique and extraordinary circumstances”, a judge in Laval wanted to avoid jail time for the mother of a little girl who was scalded in Laval and ended up not inflicting the injuries on her little one.
• Also read – Seven-year-old girl who died in Laval: her mother did not scald her to death
“The court could see all the pain and regret that resides within [l’accusée] since the death of his daughter, who are absolutely sincere, appreciable and understandable,” Judge Yvan Poulin said Thursday at the Laval courthouse.
The 37-year-old, who was initially charged with criminal negligence that caused death and personal injury, finally pleaded guilty to a reduced charge last February for failing to provide her daughter with basic necessities while she was in distress.
The Southeast Asian woman, who we cannot identify under a publication ban, was sentenced to two years’ probation with 240 hours of community service.
Disturbing Facts
The circumstances of the baby’s death, which occurred during a seizure in January 2021, remained unclear during the mother’s guilty plea.
However, the evidence showed that the injuries inflicted on the 7-year-old girl were not inflicted by the defendants.
According to the facts presented to the court, the girl had had significant behavioral problems since she was five years old. She particularly said that she liked hurting herself and expressed her desire to kill her little sister.
However, as we learned at the time, the defendant could not speak openly to members of her community about these issues.
“The court was able to capture the very unhealthy nature of the family dynamic [l’accusée] constantly had to deal with parental responsibility for his daughter,” Judge Poulin said Thursday.
Then the child became increasingly anxious and aggressive as a result of the delivery. The girl then began repeatedly slapping her mother’s face, which she could not control.
The situation between the accused and her daughter continued to deteriorate until the victim refused any contact with her mother in the fall of 2020. She even forbade him to look at her and ordered him to remain locked in his room.
fateful days
On December 31, 2020, the defendant saw her daughter’s blood-stained sweater in her bathroom sink.
“She thinks the little one may have been injured but is reluctant to take her out of her room to ask for fear of provoking a crisis,” Justice Poulin said.
Three times over the next 72 hours, a family member who normally looked after the victim asked the accused to go to the pharmacy to buy bandages and salt water.
When asked what happened, the woman who was taking care of the child replied that the victim “did this to herself in the shower.”
The defendant asked no further questions and no longer approached her daughter, whom she saw only once from behind.
“The fact that [la mère] “Didn’t push these controls further so as not to provoke an additional crisis for his daughter, is part of the poisoned climate that has developed within the extended family,” stressed Judge Poulin through the accused’s tears.
The mother first saw her child on January 3, 2021, when the child was brought to the foot of her bed. The child was already dead by then.
According to the autopsy, death was caused by very severe burns, consistent with hot water burns, covering 70% of his body.
However, the victim’s little sister revealed a few months later that the woman caring for her sister “pinched her and was able to pour hot water on her body”.
The Crown had called for a sentence of two years less a day’s imprisonment, while the defense advocated a suspended sentence and community service instead.
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