Sheridan Paige Millar appeals Rockhampton drug supply sentence

The mother of a toddler left on a childcare bus for six hours in 2022 has appealed her sentence for supplying dangerous drugs after she was ordered to spend time in prison.

Sheridan Paige Millar, the mum of a toddler left on a childcare bus for six hours in 2022 has been jailed for supplying methamphetamines and marijuana, leaving the young girl and three other children in the care of her terminally ill grandmother and family.

The mother of a toddler left on a childcare bus for six hours in 2022 has appealed her sentence for supplying dangerous drugs after she was ordered to spend actual time in prison.

Sheridan Paige Millar was sentenced in Rockhampton District Court on March 19 for supplying methamphetamine after police targeted her boyfriend – Frederick Thomas John Heumiller – who is accused of trafficking methamphetamines.

Millar arranged drug supplies for her then defacto partner, or offered to supply people on his behalf.

The court heard Millar was the mother of the three-year-old girl who had been left on a bus outside a daycare centre before her limp body was discovered still strapped inside in May 2022.

During a 3.5-week period in 2024, Millar organised five supplies of meth through Mr Heumiller – from 0.2 grams to 0.5g worth – and arranged for herself to carry out two supplies of meth – one of 3.5g for $1100 and the other of 0.1g.

She also arranged the supply of $10 of marijuana once.

During her sentencing, Crown prosecutor Monique Bros-Wilshire told the court that police searched Millar’s residence on March 20, 2024, and located 0.486g of meth and a gram of marijuana which she possessed for personal use.

She said police seized her phone and observed many messages had been deleted.

Defence barrister Jordan Ahlstrand said his client had the sole care of four children after she separated from the children’s father.

Mr Ahlstrand said one of her children, Nevaeh, was left by others on a bus outside a daycare centre for almost six hours when she was three in May 2022.

After being given just a 5 per cent chance of survival the night of the incident, the little girl was flown to Brisbane’s Queensland Children’s Hospital where she had to undergo a deep brain scan while suffering from kidney failure.

Nevaeh began breathing on her own on the next day.

The court heard Millar had two entries on her criminal record for possessing drug utensils in 2016 and 2018 and one for possessing drugs in 2018, with no convictions recorded.

Millar pleaded guilty to eight counts of supplying dangerous drugs, two of possessing dangerous drugs and one of possessing a phone used to supply drugs.

She was sentenced to 18 months prison to serve three months with parole release on June 19, 2025.

Millar appealed her sentence, stating that the requirement for her to serve actual custody made the sentence “manifestly excessive”.

She also submitted it was in the public interest to preserve the family unit, in circumstances where there were strong prospects of rehabilitation, supported a conclusion that there was “latent error” and a substantial injustice in requiring actual custody to be served by Millar.

The court had heard her mother had a terminal illness and Millar, who had consumed drugs for 10 years, had stopped after her arrest and no longer had the finances to pay for illicit substances.

Justice Boddice, in the Court of Appeal decision, wrote that there was no doubt Millar had a number of factors which supported a sentence which did not require her to serve actual time in custody, however, just because that open was open did not mean it was “sufficient “ grounds to support an appeal that the sentence imposed was “manifestly excessive”.

He wrote for Millar to succeed with the “manifestly excessive” submission, she needed to show it was different to those imposed for others in similar circumstances.

Justice Boddice said the period of actual time in custody was reduced by the sentencing judge when he took into account Millar’s circumstances and it was otherwise not an unjust or unreasonable sentence.

Millar’s appeal was refused.

According to court records, Mr Heumiller has been charged with one count of trafficking drugs, 79 counts of supplying dangerous drugs, two of possessing more than two grams of a schedule one drug, one of possessing property suspected used in a drug offence, one of possessing anything used in a crime, three of possessing drug utensils, one of possessing tainted property, one of buy or possess s4 or s8 medicines or hazardous poisons, one of disqualified driving and one of driving an unregistered vehicle.

His trafficking and other drug charges were committed to the higher courts on February 6 and awaiting indictment in the Supreme Court.

Mr Heumiller is on bail and scheduled to next appear in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on the remainder of his charges on June 9.