Townsville mother fined for leaving kids at home while partying
A Townsville mother-of-eight left children, one as young as nine months old, home alone so she could spend a night partying at a nightclub, a court has heard.
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A Townsville mother-of-eight left her children, one as young as nine months old, home alone so she could spent a night partying at a nightclub, a court has heard.
The 34-year-old Townsville woman had arranged for a 17-year-old to care for five children while she got some “respite” with a night out on the town on February 5 but the babysitter never arrived.
She pleaded guilty to leaving a child under 12 unattended (domestic violence offence), unauthorised dealing with shops goods, stealing, and driving over the general alcohol limit but over the medium limit in Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday.
The court heard it wasn’t until the next morning when neighbours saw a toddler wandering on her own, that the alarm was raised with police.
Defence lawyer Darryn Casson said there was “some mismanagement on her behalf” after the woman decided to leave the children unattended at the house but the babysitter never arrived.
It is understood one of the older children had opened the front door which is where the toddler escaped.
Police prosecutor Erin Collis said she was also charged with stealing food from a supermarket, a t-shirt from a retail store, and driving over the general alcohol limit but not over the middle limit, with a blood alcohol content of 0.052.
The prosecutor said the stealing offence occurred while the woman was on bail, and her driving history showed similar offending for the drink driving previously.
Ms Collis believed that a substantial fine, a licence disqualification, and a period probation were suitable punishments for the “most concerning offending”.
Mr Casson said the woman “had tried to put those (babysitting) arrangements in place and unfortunately didn’t follow through”.
He said his client had suffered a “traumatic upbringing” without her parents, endured periods of homelessness, and was medicated since the age of 13 for a range of mental conditions.
She was a single-mother in receipt of $1200 per fortnight in Centrelink parenting payments.
He said the woman was “in a rush and ... paid for some items” on the day of the supermarket food steal, she “doesn’t know why” she stole the T-shirt, and had no prior drink-driving offences on her driving record.
While he accepted that arrangements had been put in place, Acting Magistrate Scott Luxton said leaving the five children under the age of 12 unsupervised for 12 hours was a “serious charge”.
“I’m sure you have, with the benefit of hindsight, considered what could have potentially occurred for the safety and welfare of those children, left unattended for such a considerable period of time,” Magistrate Luxton said.
“It was good fortune rather than good management that none of those children suffered any harm as a result of your actions.”
Allowing for the woman’s lack of relevant criminal history, he fined her $1750, and ordered $30 be paid in restitution.
Her licence was disqualified for a month and convictions were recorded.
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Originally published as Townsville mother fined for leaving kids at home while partying
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