Quebec mother accused of abandoning child, 3, in a field is not criminally responsible, judge rules

This story was originally published on The Montreal Gazette

A Quebec Court judge has determined that the 34-year-old woman from LaSalle who abandoned her three-year-old daughter in June was not criminally responsible for her actions.

Judge Bernard St-Arnaud made the decision following a brief hearing held Monday at the Valleyfield courthouse.

The judge heard a summary of the facts of the evidence and was presented with a report from a psychiatrist who examined the accused at the Philippe-Pinel Institute following her arrest.

The psychiatrist found that the woman, whose name cannot be published, was suffering from a mental illness on June 15 and was unable to tell right from wrong.

The judge then began hearing evidence to determine whether the woman should be released or detained at the mental health hospital and allowed to make unescorted leaves.

The defence is seeking the last option while the Crown is opposed to the unescorted leaves.

The woman’s father was the first to be called as a witness for the defence. He said his daughter suffered from a mental illness for a while. He said she received a bipolar diagnosis first, “but that changed later to something like a mini-schizophrenia.”

The father said he believed his daughter’s mental illness can be managed outside of a hospital as long as she takes her medication. The father said he learned that his daughter had been having conversations with the artificial intelligence application Chat GPT. “

I don’t know much about it. It’s almost like talking to a person,” the father said. “Chat GPT wants to keep the conversation going. From what I have heard it can be very debilitating (for a person with a mental health problem).”

The father noted that he has recently heard media reports of other people being hospitalized because they became addicted to holding conversations with an artificial intelligence application.

“She needs a friend. She need a real friend,” the father said. Earlier Monday, the judge in the case criticized the provincial corrections system for causing a significant delay in the trial.

St-Arnaud, a former Quebec justice minister, asked one of the provincial guards who was with the mother inside the prisoner’s dock with the accused why she was brought late to her hearing at the Valleyfield courthouse.

“It’s not like there is a snowstorm,” the judge said in reference to how the weather was picture-perfect Monday morning.

The accused, whose identity is protected by a standard publication ban, had to be transferred from the Philippe-Pinel Institute in eastern Montreal to Valleyfield. “This is something that happens regularly in Valleyfield. The judges are here at 9:30.

The lawyers are here at 9:30. The personnel are here at 9:30,” the judge said, pointing out it is not uncommon for detainees to be brought to the Valleyfield courthouse an hour late.

The judge blamed the situation on “the inefficiency of Quebec’s corrections system.” During the hearing, prosecutor Lili Prévost-Gravel said that when the Ontario Provincial Police located the girl, she had suffered minor injuries and several insect bites and her clothing was soiled.

The girl was wearing a diaper the entire time, Prévost-Gravel said. “It was a hostile place for a child,” she said in reference to the field where the girl was located. “It was close to a highway, with cars travelling at 100 kilometres per hour going by.”

Prévost-Gravel said that after the girl was found, she was taken to a hospital and later placed in the care of her father.

“He still can’t leave her alone. He is (currently) unable to work because he is unable to leave his daughter alone,” she said.

The mother wore a black sweatshirt to court and appeared tired Monday morning.

The Crown recommended that the mother be declared not criminally responsible.

This story was originally published on The Montreal Gazette

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