Mother Of Abused Child Not To Serve Jail Time

[Cpl Kendall]

CBC.CA

The mother of a four-year-old girl who was sexually and physically assaulted will not spend any time behind bars.

The 22-year-old mother was sentenced Thursday in a case Edmonton police once called the most horrific child abuse they'd ever seen.

Court of Queen's Bench Judge Darlene Acton sentenced her to two years of house arrest with very strict conditions.

Acton told her she would have to live with the guilt and shame for what she has done for the rest of her life.

The young mother, who cannot be identified to protect the child's identity, was found guilty last month of common assault and causing a child to need protective services. The maximum penalty for both is 5½ years behind bars.

The woman's former boyfriend, Darcy Bannert, was convicted of 11 charges, two of them related to sexual abuse. He will be sentenced later this month.

Crown asked for 3½ years

During the mother's sentencing hearing Monday, defence lawyer Michael Danyliuk said he didn't want the young woman to go to prison and asked that she instead serve a lengthy conditional sentence that would include house arrest and mandatory counselling.

Danyliuk told Acton that the mother had lived a horrific life and suffers from a number of mental disorders.

But Crown lawyer Shelley Bykewich had asked the judge to impose a 3½-year sentence, saying the girl turned to her mother as a protector but instead found another hit, slap or punch on a regular basis.

During the trial, court heard that the little girl was deprived of water, repeatedly hit and handcuffed to furniture as punishment, and sexually assaulted by Bannert.

The little girl is now five and a permanent ward of the province.

Surely the mother could be remanded to a mental institute for care if she is as troubled as the article suggests, they still exist in Canada. This article is a little short on details though.

[Mayabird]

I don't know Canadian law well. Will she be able to get custody of the girl after her house arrest is done? I certainly hope not, but I can see them saying, "Time's up. Good to go!" and her going right back to abusing the kid again.

[Cpl Kendall]

She'll have to take CAS to court to regain custody of the child. I'd say that given her history the outlook of such a hearing isn't favourable unless her conditions really improves. CAS is really conservative.