Unanderra mum pleads guilty to serious neglect of four-year-old son

An Illawarra mum and her lesbian partner will be sentenced later this year, after their little boy presented to hospital in a state of reduced consciousness with slurred speech and was found to have several prescription drugs in his system.

The boy’s mum appeared in Wollongong Local Court on child neglect charges on October 23. 

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An Illawarra mum has pleaded guilty to neglecting her four-year-old son, who was found living in a filthy home with more than six different prescription drugs in his system.

The little boy’s mother pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to provide for child cause danger of serious injury at Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, more than a year after she and her lesbian partner were arrested by the Child Abuse Squad.

According to court documents, police became aware of the woman and her partner, after they took the boy to Wollongong Hospital’s emergency department four times in just seven days.

On October 10, the mother’s partner took the boy to hospital in a reduced state of consciousness, telling hospital staff he had a “reduced oral intake”, believing this is why he was “lethargic”.

Neither of the women have seen the boy since their arrests last year. Picture: 9 News.

The boys condition improved while at the hospital and he was later discharged, with a pediatrician’s appointment booked for the following morning.

When he arrived at the hospital less than 12 hours later, court documents say the boy was again in a “compromised state of consciousness”.

While he was alert, the little boy couldn’t hold his head up, was unable to walk on his own and slurred as he tried to speak.

Doctors at the hospital asked the boy’s mother and her partner whether he could have accidentally ingested any toxins, but they denied this was a possibility, saying paracetamol, ibuprofen and “pain patches” were only drugs medications in the home.

The boy was admitted to hospital for observation and testing, which revealed he had benzodiazepines in his system. Benzos, as they are better known, Are minor tranquillisers most commonly prescribed by doctors to relieve stress and anxiety and help people sleep.

Doctors confronted the boy’s mum and her partner about the results on October 12, who said they didn’t know where or when he would have found the drugs, but that “some tablets” had arrived in the mail a few weeks earlier.

The mum’s partner told doctors the tablets, which turned out to be temazepam, were hidden in a jewellery box, which she “put up high” away from the child.

Hospital records showed the boy had presented to the hospital on 31 separate occasions between September 17 and October 2018, at times with unexplained symptoms of reduced consciousness and drowsiness, and others with recurrent injuries and developmental concerns.

The little boy is no longer in the care of his mother and her partner.

On October 12, officers from the Illawarra Child Abuse squad were notified about the boys hospital presentations and an investigation began. Later that day, court documents say police searched the family’s Unanderra home.

During the search police found two “blister packs” of temazepam, plus another empty pack on the kitchen bench, as well as another packet with 18 tablets hidden in a jewellery box inside a high kitchen cupboard.

While searching the home, police noted it was in a “messy state,” with cigarette butts littered all throughout the property, some found within centimetres of the little boy’s porta cot. As well as the butts, court documents say police saw piles of rubbish and mouldy food scraps all over the floor and on furniture.

The little boy, who was still in hospital at the time of the search, was taken from his mum and her partner and placed in the care of Family and Community Services. While in hospital, court documents say the child made “remarkable improvements”, with his speech, and playful, active nature.

On October 14 test results confirmed the little boy had a cocktail of prescription drugs in his system, including temazepam, amitriptyline- an antidepressant, promethazine- used to treat nausea and vomiting and caffeine.

Further tests revealed even more drugs in his system, including antidepressants nortriptyline, oxazepam, temazepam, amitriptyline, lignocaine and benzos.

During an interview with police, the boy’s mum said she woke up on October 10, her partner told her she’d found her son’s little blue chair pushed up against a kitchen cupboard.

“[He] was asleep on the lounge when I got up. I walked over to him and said ‘bubba’ and he kind of looked at me and went back to sleep,” she said to police.

“I asked [my partner] what was wrong with him and she goes ‘I don’t know I think he’s lethargic from not eating’ …”

The boy’s mum hid her face as she left court on October 23. 

In regard to the temazepam that arrived in the mail, the boy’s mum denied taking the tablets herself and said she did not feed them to her son.

Following the interview, police examined the women’s phones, where they found a number of text messages about the temazepam.

Just hours prior to the little boy being admitted to hospital on October 10, the mum’s partner texted her an image of the empty temazepam blister pack.

When the mum questioned her partner as to what the photo was, court documents say she said it was the temazepam they received in the mail.

“Why would they be down … It wasn’t me …” the mother said.

“I have no idea that's the thing. I found the empty sachet which was a full sachet last time I knew in the bin.”

Court documents reveal the mother than began to panic, telling her partner “they”, meaning the doctors or police, were “going to f**k us n take [the little boy]”.

Her partner tried to calm her down, telling her she wouldn’t let the hospital take the boy’s urine for testing.

The mother replied telling her doctors had already taken a sample, which then caused her to panic as well.

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Once the results came back positive for prescription drugs, the partner admitted to the boy’s mother that she’d “made a mistake”.

“Babe … it’s totally okay to blame …” she said via text message. “I have made a mistake and I am very sorry for that”.

On October 20, 2018, both women were charged with failing to provide for child cause danger of serious injury.

The partner pleaded guilty to the charge last month and will be sentenced on November 15.

During her appearance at Wollongong Local Court on October 23, the boy’s mum also pleaded guilty to the charge.

Magistrate Stoddart set the case down for sentencing on December 13.

Both women are on bail while the little boy remains in alternate care.