Father Deon Warner left baby alone in car to go to shops
A FATHER who left his baby alone in a parked car has been warned by a magistrate to never do it again.
Inner South
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A FATHER who left his 20-month-old baby alone in a parked car has been warned by a magistrate to never do it again.
At Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Thursday Deon Warner pleaded guilty to leaving a child without care or supervision.
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The Chelsea bar manager escaped with a good behaviour bond, as the tiny tot had slept through the ordeal unharmed.
The court heard he parked his car in Centreway in Mordialloc at around 1pm on July 15 this year.
He left his 20-month-old inside, asleep, with the windows ajar while he went into the nearby Woolworths supermarket.
A witness had seen him leave his vehicle and called authorities.
Thirteen minutes later he returned to the car to find emergency services waiting for him.
He told them he “didn’t want to wake” the baby and was only gone for a few minutes.
The child was not in distress, was unharmed, and in fact had slept through the whole thing.
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Representing himself in court, Warner said he regretted his actions and he wouldn’t do it again.
Magistrate Charles Tan said while the baby was not distressed and it was only 13 minutes, “a child that young and vulnerable requires constant care” and parents needed “vigilance at all times”.
He said Warner had no criminal history, had pleaded guilty and accepted he had made a mistake.
He was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond. No conviction was recorded.
The warning comes as this upcoming summer beckons a long and hot season ahead.
An average of four kids a day are put at risk of serious heat-related injury or death by being left unattended in parked cars.
Victorian state government figures reveal between August 2016 and 2017, Ambulance Victoria responded to 1696 calls to people locked in vehicles.
Penalties for leaving a child unattended in a car can include a fine of over $3600 or up to six months in jail.
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