The Whanganui woman charged over the death of a child left in a hot car has been discharged without conviction.
The 35-year-old healthcare professional was also granted permanent name suppression during the sentencing in the Whanganui High Court this morning before Justice Simon France.
The child and her husband were also given name suppression.
She had previously pleaded guilty to the boy's manslaughter.
Justice France said the woman's culpability was low.
"She immediately made a statement as to what had happened and pleaded guilty as soon as she was charged. She and her husband have suffered a terrible loss that will never pass. Hers has to date has been an exemplary life," he said.
The "stigma" of a conviction couldn't be underestimated, Justice France said.
He had "no doubt" the circumstances of the case allowed for a compassionate response.
The 16-month-old boy died after being left in a car at her workplace on January 16 this year. Temperatures in the city peaked around 26 DegC that day.
The court was told the woman left for work at 7am that day having returned home at 12:30am and put her son in an approved car seat facing the back of the care.
Tired, she forgot to turn off to drop him at daycare and drove straight to work oblivious her son was still in the car.
Several hours later, she'd received a text message from the daycare, and when she was told by a crèche worker she hadn't dropped the boy off she dropped the phone and ran to the car.
Her attempts to revive her son were ultimately unsuccessful. The cause of death was determined to be from heat stroke and dehydration.
Justice France said her tired state at the time came from her work with the community.
"It's fair to note this tiredness stemmed from selflessness and commitment to the community rather than any personal activity."
He said the support for the woman from the community has been obvious, which was a "testimony to [her] exceptional character and contribution to society".
Family First says the decision is appropriate and that her child's death is "punishment enough".
However, national director Bob McCoskrie is disappointed police pursued the prosecution, thereby initiating a "drawn-out court process" which "served no public benefit".
"It has just added to the pain of a mother who has already received a life sentence. What was the point of pursuing this further?
"No jail term or punishment could have outweighed the consequence of the mother's mistake. This does not appear to be a neglectful mother. It appears to be simply a tragic, tragic mistake. Fortunately the judge agreed."
Police should have used their discretion under the prosecution guidelines not to press charges, he says.
3 News / RadioLIVE
source: newshub archive
