The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 23-year-old woman admitted to leaving her six-year-old daughter home alone in court yesterday after the child was found wandering Market Street last Friday afternoon.

Senior Magistrate Anishka Isaacs arraigned the female defendant, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of a minor, for cruelty to children.

Police were reportedly alerted to a child wandering Market Street by a concerned citizen at 12.45pm on December 13. 

When the child’s mother was apprehended, she admitted to leaving the child home alone. However, she claimed that she had left her daughter in a room with cameras.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge.

When Magistrate Isaacs asked the defendant to explain her actions, the young mother claimed that she had no one to watch her daughter and she couldn’t call in for her cashier job.

The defendant claimed that she took her eye off the phone camera when things got busy at work and didn’t see when the child got out.

The accused went on to say that her sister couldn’t watch the child. She also said that she isn’t in contact with the child’s or her own father. The defendant added that her mother was not fit to watch the child, claiming that she suffered from drug abuse.

When Magistrate Isaacs inquired as to where the child is now, the defendant said that she is now in the custody of her sister.

Magistrate Isaacs deferred the defendant’s sentencing until she could speak with the accused’s sister.

The defendant was released on her own recognizance and told to return to court on Wednesday.

Magistrate Isaacs warned the defendant not to miss her next court date or a warrant for her arrest would be issued.