Seven-year prison sentence sought for mom who ignored young son’s emaciated state

A Winnipeg woman who ignored repeated pleas to seek medical attention for her eight-year-old son before he was finally seized by child-welfare authorities, emaciated and near death, should go to prison for seven years, a judge was told Tuesday.

“Every single day, she had an opportunity to take (her son) for help,” Crown attorney Keri Anderson told provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald.

“Every single time CFS directed her to seek help, every single time family expressed concerns, every single time a professional at school reached out and offered help, and every day in between, she watched (her son) suffer and did nothing,” Anderson said.

The 38-year-old woman and her 37-year-old husband, who are parents to five children, both pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm and are being sentenced separately.

Neither offender can be named to protect the identity of their son and his younger sister, both of whom were “malnourished and suffering serious medical consequences” when they were seized by CFS workers in March 2023.

“The two children had food aversions, and the parents didn’t know how to deal with this, and did not seek assistance, while (the boy) deteriorated and was in obvious need of medical attention,” Anderson said, reading from an agreed statement of facts.

“While (the girl’s) condition was less severe, she was on the same path as (her brother),” Anderson said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca