A mother left her children locked in their house for two days to party, forcing the kids to climb out of a window to find help.
Her 9-year-old daughter, who was covered in flea bites, climbed out a window with her 2-year-old brother.
The hungry siblings were left to fend for themselves even though they begged their mom to return.
Leeds Crown Court heard that the mother continued to leave the kids so she could go to parties despite being arrested before on suspicion of child neglect.
Bashir Ahmed, prosecuting, said to the court that the mother had been a ‘devoted mother’ until she broke up with the kids’ father.
The woman locked the children in the house and hadn’t come back in the morning, leaving the 9-year-old girl to watch over her brother. She fed him and changed his nappy for two days until they were forced to find help.
“I have gone upstairs to bed because I can’t keep my eyes open,” the 9-year-old wrote to her mother. “Me and [her brother] love you. We miss you very much. Can you wake us up when you are back?
“We have been crying for you all night and I am really worried.”
Her letter finished: “Please come upstairs to bed with us.”
The children were taken away but only a few weeks later, they were returned to their home.
But the court heard that the mother went out again to a drug and alcohol fuelled party. The young girl wrote: “Mum where are you? I miss you. I was crying and I’m upset. Wake me up when you are back. Thank you Mummy.”
The woman was arrested again and claimed she had only gone out to the chemist but ‘got chatting to people in the street.’ She tested positive for drugs.
“How could you do it to them?” Judge Tom Bayliss, QC, asked. “You have got to live with the consequences and you have also got to live with the knowledge that you should be going to prison for a very long time.”
The mother was given an 8-month prison sentence, suspended for 2 years, and ordered to participate in a 20-day program.
“I am not doing it for your sake because, quite honestly, you do not deserve any sympathy from this court,” Judge Bayliss said. “I am doing it for the sake of those two little people.”
What’s your take on this? Let us know in the comments section! SHARE this with your friends and family and don’t forget to FOLLOW our page for more stories and news!
Replaced!