Dad left three kids aged 13, 10 and four at home for five hours while he drank, played pokies Toowoomba Magistrates Court told

The ‘bright lights’ of pokie machines saw a 52-year-old man stay at a pub for longer than intended. The problem was he left his three young children at home alone for five hours. Here’s what happened in court.

A 52-year-old man who left his three young children at home alone while he went to the pub for the night has copped a $1000 fine and a berating from a Toowoomba magistrate.

The man, who cannot be named, left his two children aged 10 and four in the care of their 13-year-old sister when he left the home about 7pm on September 3, saying he’d be back in half-an-hour and went to the pub.

When he hadn’t returned home by midnight, the 13-year-old called triple-0 fearing something had happened to her father, Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told on Tuesday.

The next morning police attended the home where they spoke with the man who said he had needed some time away from the children of whom he had sole care after their mother left two months prior, police prosecutor Anita Page told the court.

The man told police he had stayed at the pub for five hours, longer than he had anticipated, she said.

Magistrate Kyna Morice berated the man for leaving his three young children at home while went out drinking and playing pokies at the pub.

When police spotted a “bong” on the kitchen cabinet, the man admitted he had bought 1g of cannabis while at the pub before playing the pokies, Ms Page said.

The man pleaded guilty to two counts of leaving a child under 12 unattended, possessing a dangerous drug and a drug utensil.

Duty lawyer Brad Skuse, of Skuse Graham Lawyers, told the court his client had gone to the pub to get cigarettes but the “bright lights of the poker machines” had caught his eye and he stayed longer than he had intended.

The next day police had returned to the man’s home where he told them the incident had been a “wake up” call for him.

The children had been returned to their father by Child Safety officers that day after they were satisfied the children were happy to be with their father, Mr Skuse said.

His client was a disability pensioner and intended returning to his native South Australia with the children where his sister had sourced suitable accommodation, he said.

Magistrate Kyna Morice said “leaving the children at home to go to the pub is outrageous”.

Ms Morice said if the man was staying in Queensland she would impose a period of probation but because he was relocating to South Australia that would not be appropriate.

“I accept this is a wake up call for you,” she told the man who was convicted and fined $1000.