Madison Kate-Lee Collins has baby in jail, pleads guilty to crime spree
A young Queensland mum who gave birth in custody has been told to bounce her baby slower because “you’re making it giddy” during her latest court appearance.
Sunshine Coast
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A young Sunshine Coast mum with a serious drug addiction and eight page criminal history has plead guilty to various stealing, drug and fraud offences after giving birth to her baby boy behind bars.
Madison Kate-Lee Collins had been in custody for 114 days for a petty crime spree, despite telling the court she didn’t want to undergo “labour in handcuffs” when pregnant back in May.
Collins appeared via video link with her two-month-old baby boy in her arms at Maroochydore Magistrates Court, on Tuesday, September 10.
The 25-year-old Nambour woman plead guilty to 17 charges including entering premises and committing an offence, fraud, attempted fraud and trespass.
These charges join a grocery list of other charges she was already on bail for including counts of fraud, receiving tainted property and possessing dangerous drugs.
Some of her charges related to entering Woolworths at Big Top Maroochydore and stealing on February 14, similar offending at the Mantra Mooloolaba Resort on March 8 and at the Barbican Apartments at Mooloolaba between March 27 and March 30.
Police said she also stole a bank card on April 1, tried to dishonestly gain goods twice on April 1 and possessed marijuana on May 4 while also possessing prescription drugs.
She committed the offences while on bail, parole and probation.
The court heard Collins’ history included 26 drug convictions and 33 dishonesty offences.
Collins’ lawyer Bree-Anna Bowtell asked for a suspended sentence due to her client’s baby.
She told the court her client had been “breastfeeding in custody”.
The court heard Collins was “highly intoxicated on drugs” when she committed the crimes. Ms Bowtell also alleged Collins was the victim of domestic violence from the father of her newborn.
Ms Bowtell told the court Collins already had a five-year-old son.
“She’s allowed to have the baby with her until he is five years old,” Ms Bowtell said.
Collins will live in Ormeau with her aunt and her two sons.
The court heard she plans to continue studying to be a teacher and will deal with inevitably struggling to obtain a blue card and complete her prac later – taking it “one thing at a time”.
Collins is clean now, Ms Bowtell told the court.
“You can stand there and say whatever you want without the proof … I can look at the history and see she has a drug problem but there’s nothing about DV,” Magistrate Haydn Stjernqvist told the court.
Ms Bowtell conceded she did not have evidence of domestic violence.
Mr Stjernqvist called out Collins for bouncing her baby too often during the sentencing.
“Miss Collins you’re making your baby giddy … a bit slower,” he said.
Mr Stjernqvist sentenced Collins to a head sentence of 18 months imprisonment, immediately suspended for an operation period of two years.
“You’re free to go,” he said.
“Your baby might want to rest … it's been bouncing around for 15 to 20 minutes.
“Stop bouncing it.”
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