By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A 23-year-old woman was ordered to be on good behaviour for one year after leaving her six-year-old daughter home alone in December, resulting in the child wandering Market Street unaccompanied.
Senior Magistrate Anishka Isaacs had arraigned the woman, whose name is being withheld to protect the minor’s identity, on a charge of cruelty to children.
The defendant received a conditional discharge and was instructed to be on good behaviour for one year. Failure to comply could result in a $3,000 fine or a six-month prison sentence. Magistrate Isaacs informed her that she is now on the radar of social services, the police, and her neighbours, advising her to seek additional resources or friends to help with childcare.
Police were alerted at 12.45pm on December 13, 2024, by a concerned citizen who spotted the child wandering on Market Street.
When the mother was apprehended, she admitted leaving her daughter home alone but claimed she had placed the child in a room equipped with cameras. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge upon arraignment in December.
Asked by Magistrate Isaacs to explain her actions, the defendant said she had nobody to watch her daughter and could not afford to call in absent from her cashier job at a gas station. She explained she was monitoring her daughter via a phone camera but got busy at work and failed to notice when the child left the house.
The defendant further said that her sister could not care for the child, she was not in contact with the child’s father or her own father, and that her mother was unfit to look after the child due to drug abuse. When Magistrate Isaacs asked where the child was currently staying, the defendant replied that she is now in her sister’s custody.
Although the defendant was scheduled to appear for sentencing on December 30, she missed that court date, telling Magistrate Isaacs she believed it was set for January 30. She said she came to court only after her sister received a call from the prosecution.
The defendant’s sister told the magistrate that she helps watch her niece when possible but works six days a week, has only Mondays off, and also cares for their 12-year-old younger sister.
When invited to speak before sentencing, the defendant elected to remain silent. Magistrate Isaacs considered her young age, early guilty plea, absence of prior offences, and limited resources; she also noted that the child was left alone in the afternoon. However, the magistrate found it aggravating that a six-year-old with limited understanding of the world was left unsupervised.
Assistant Superintendent of Police K Bowles served as the prosecutor.
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