A Montreal mother whose three-year-old daughter was discovered alive in a rural Ontario field, after being abandoned, has been deemed not criminally responsible for the incident by a Quebec court judge.
Judge Bertrand St-Arnaud has determined that the 34-year-old woman is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder, absolving her of charges of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and unlawful abandonment of a child.
Both the prosecution and the defense have agreed on the circumstances, acknowledging that the woman’s mental condition should exempt her from criminal liability.
Based on an extensive psychiatric evaluation, St-Arnaud has concluded that the accused should be acquitted on grounds of not being criminally responsible.
Following an extensive three-day search, Ontario Provincial Police officers located the girl alive and well on June 18 near Casselman, Ont., approximately 120 kilometers west of Montreal.
