A woman has been sentenced to five years in jail for criminal negligence after her 2-year-old son fell into a pond and died while she was chatting and posting pictures on Facebook.
Claire Barnett, who has four children with three different men, was on the internet and chatting on the phone when her son, Joshua, fell into the pond located in front of their rented apartment and drowned.
The woman was reportedly told to fence off the area where the pond was located or fill it up completely when she moved into the apartment but ignored the advice, prosecutors said.
She claimed to have rushed out of the apartment “within 10 seconds” of her son falling into the pond, but prosecutors say it was unclear if that was the case.
The prosecuting lawyer, Peter Moulson said: “It is not possible to put an exact period of time he was in the pond.
“It may have been as short as 20 seconds.
“There was evidence the defendant had been on a mobile telephone in the lounge or Facebook when Joshua was at the pond. The danger present of this neglect was obvious.”
He said there was evidence of a second picture being uploaded which she had not immediately told police about.
Although she denied charges of unlawful killing, Barnett pleaded guilty to four charges bordering on negligence.
However before passing his judgment, the judge gave her a tongue lashing.
“As a result of your utterly neglectful parenting of two very young boys, one has died,” the trial judge Jeremy Richardson said. “It is the first duty of any parent to keep his or her child safe.”
Going further, the judge noted: “You repeatedly failed in that paramount duty, exposing each of the children to risk of serious injury and death.
“Your lamentably appalling parenting led to fatal consequences.
“This is not simply a case of you providing low quality parenting.
“Your serious repeated long-term neglect by failing to supervise your children and preventing them from being exposed to considerable dangers amounted to criminal conduct.
“Your culpability is high and this is a very serious case.
“If you should have any further children, they will almost certainly be removed from you.
“You pose very serious risks to any child for whom you have responsibility.”
Source: Daily Mail
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