Girl (10) abandoned by mother in town at night

Friday 19th March 2010, 3:00PM GMT.

Assistant Magistrate Bridget Shaw

A TEN-YEAR-OLD girl, dressed only in pyjamas and a jacket, was left to walk home alone through St Helier in the middle of the night while her drunk mother visited her boyfriend, the Magistrate’s Court heard yesterday.

The girl’s 34-year-old mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with child neglect following the incident on 21 February after police officers found the girl wandering the streets at 12.45 am.

Yesterday, Assistant Magistrate Bridget Shaw said that the woman from St Helier, whose children are currently in care, was lucky that her daughter had not come to any harm and deserved serious punishment for her actions.

The woman was sentenced to 180 hours’ community service and 12 months’ probation for neglecting a child under the age of 16 and for a number of driving offences. She had pleaded guilty to the charges at a previous hearing.

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