The London woman accused of abandoning her baby in a south London driveway will appear in court again next month.
The 32-year-old made a brief appearance Thursday morning on charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life, child abandonment and impaired driving. She also pleaded guilty to one count of fraud under $5,000 for stealing money from a previous employer.
Last month, an 8-week-old child was found sitting in a frost covered car seat on Emery St. A neighbour made the discovery while on his way to work around 5:40am.
Earlier that day, the mother was arrested for impaired driving just before 2am. Investigators say she was fleeing her home with the child, when she put him down in the driveway and forgot to put him in the car.
When police were called to the Emery St. home, officers found the father asleep inside. He was bound by conditions not to be there and not to be drinking. Craig Lush, 31, was initially charged with breaching his probation conditions. Police later issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of assault and property damage.
The mother had reportedly told officers at the time of her arrest for impaired driving that she had been assaulted by Lush. An internal review has been launched in relation to how police handled the domestic violence aspect of the investigation.
Despite being left out in the cold, the baby was unharmed. He was put in the care of the Children's Aid Society, but has since been returned to his family.
In court on Thursday, the mother entered a guilty plea to a previous charge of fraud. In a joint statement read aloud in the court the woman admitted to stealing over $480 from a tanning salon she worked at in the summer of 2013. She said it was for cab fare and medical expenses.
She was sentenced to one year probation.
The woman will appear in court again on May 28 to answer to the charges in relation to the baby abandonment case.
