Not guilty
Court frees mother of 13-y-o who went out of parish for sex
Published:Saturday | July 20, 2024 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
A St James woman who was on trial for cruelty to a child, after her 13-year-old daughter stayed overnight at a man’s home outside the parish and then had sex with another man in 2023, was freed on Thursday after the presiding judge found her not guilty.
The woman, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the child, wore a frown on her face even as she received the verdict from presiding judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton, at the close of the trial which had begun on May 20 this year. She had been charged with breaching Section 9 of the Child Care and Protection Act, to which she had previously pleaded not guilty.
In explaining her decision to the mother, Judge Fairclough-Hylton stated that, while she believed the mother could have been more attentive to her daughter’s whereabouts, that alone was not enough to prove that she deliberately endangered the child.
“The prosecution has not satisfied that aspect of showing that you wilfully neglected your daughter. I will say that much more would have been desired in terms of your parenting, but I am bound by the law, and the law requires that the prosecution prove that aspect, and the prosecution has failed to prove that aspect,” said Fairclough-Hylton.
Under Section 9.1 of the Child Care and Protection Act, a person commits an offence if, being an adult and having custody of a child, the person physically or mentally mistreats, neglects, abandons or exposes the child, or causes or procures the same to take place, in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child’s health.
MOTHER UNAWARE OF GIRL’S ACTIONS
According to court documents, on December 23, 2023, the 13-year-old asked her mother’s permission to attend the Christmas Grand Market celebration in Westmoreland. After that consent was given, she went to the home of a young man and stayed the night.
The teenager subsequently went to the home of another man where they had sex. She was later found by the police, who subsequently contacted her mother, and the child was taken into protective custody while the mother was arrested and charged.
In further outlining the reason for her verdict of not guilty, Judge Fairclough-Hylton pointed out that the teenager’s testimony during her mother’s trial indicated that the mother was unaware of the girl’s actions.
“The daughter, in her evidence, indicated that while she was in Westmoreland she spoke with her mother. She indicated that her mother never encouraged her to go with the other boy with whom she had a sexual encounter, and she indicated that her mother was unaware that she was going to leave from the one person’s yard to go and meet with the other person,” said Fairclough-Hylton.
“While it can be an affront to good parenting, and her conduct falls below what is expected of a good mother, I am bound to apply the law as stated to the facts of the case. It is not just any neglect that will do, it has to be shown that she wilfully did so,” Fairclough-Hylton added.
It should be noted that, as far back as 2015, the government was seeking to target negligent parents, whose lack of care toward their children was cited as a contributing factor in those children being subjected to violence and sexual abuse.
At that time, then-Information Minister Sandrea Falconer stated that particular emphasis was to be placed on prosecuting perpetrators of aggravated assault against children. She also noted that the Child Care and Protection Act would be amended to insert new offences of parental neglect and failure of an adult to report suspected exposure of a child to sexual or other abuse.