Accused in Saskatoon child abuse trial says she hadn't tied door with rope before
Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
A woman at the centre of a child abuse case took the stand in her own trial. She told court why her nephews were found in an empty room, locked shut with rope.
In Dec. 7, 2020, police were called to a home on Lenore Drive for reports of a child on the roof of a duplex.
After officers and neighbours helped the then-seven-year-old down, police found the boy’s four-year-old brother confined in an empty room.
A 37-year-old woman and her 29-year-old boyfriend have been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, unlawful confinement and assault with a weapon.
They can’t be named because it would identify the children, who are protected under a court-ordered publication ban.
The day of the incident, the woman said everyone in the home was feeling sick. She said she walked to the pharmacy, about 20 minutes away, with her daughter, to buy medication.
“I tied the boys in the bedroom in a type of way where you just pull the string and it would come off,” she told a Saskatoon courtroom earlier this month.
The woman said it would take longer if she brought her nephews to the pharmacy, so she decided to leave them home.
Court heard the woman’s boyfriend was sleeping at the time she tied the door.
“Why didn’t you leave them in the living room or something?” defence lawyer Blaine Beaven asked his client.
“Because no one would be watching them down there … I just wanted them in one area,” she responded.
The rope was part of her camping supplies, the woman testified.
“Why tie the boys in the room?” Beaven asked.
“I take full responsibility for it because I do not know the reason why I actually did it,” she responded.
“Well, what was going through your mind? What were you thinking?” Beaven asked.
“I thought that I was not going to be gone long,” the accused answered.
Earlier in the trial, the older boy testified he crawled through the window because his brother vomited in the room and he wanted to get cleaning supplies.
The child said he was afraid how his aunt would react to the mess.
DIFFERING ACCOUNTS
While the woman testified it was her first time using rope to confine the children in their room, the boy's testament in December disputed this.
He said his brother would defecate and urinate in an air vent because he was too scared to call out to their aunt.
The woman testified the boys’ room was empty for three weeks, as she worked to clean the boy’s feces smeared in the carpet and walls.
She testified during that time, the boys slept in her daughter’s room.
But the boy’s testimony differed. He said they would sleep on the floor, and that clothes weren’t allowed in the room because they could be used as blankets.
The boy testified his aunt would sometimes hit him and his brother with a hairbrush or metal broomstick.
While referencing images of the boys’ bodies, the aunt said she never hit, scratched or withheld food from the boys.
She said the marks on the kids’ bodies were caused from the pet cat, the boys scratching themselves or rough play.
In cross-examination, the Crown suggested that the marks were made by the accused’s nails.
Court heard the boys’ mother was battling addictions and the aunt became the boys’ guardian in 2017, three years before the incident.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.