Woman gets time served for exposing baby to harm

A Brandon woman who walked into rush-hour traffic while holding her infant girl was sentenced to roughly five and a half months of time served in Brandon provincial court on Thursday.

The woman, 24, pleaded guilty to a single count of unlawfully exposing a child under 10 years old so that its health or life is endangered and several counts of breaching her release order. The Sun is not naming her to protect the identity of her daughter.

The Crown and defence jointly recommended a time-served sentence, followed by 18 months of supervised probation. The woman had the equivalent of 170 days in custody to her credit.

The Brandon Police Service received a report of an intoxicated woman, who seemed distraught, carrying a baby on 18th Street at around 4:45 p.m. on Aug. 18, 2025.

Around five minutes later, police arrived and tried to speak with her, but she walked away.

“The police attempted to catch up to her in the police cruiser, at which point she began running away from police with the baby in her arms,” Mathu said.

The woman ran across the southbound lanes of 18th Street, and when she reached the centre median, she tripped and fell on the baby, nearly falling into traffic in the northbound lanes, court heard.

Police caught up with her, apprehended the baby, who was nine months old at the time, and took the woman into custody.

An ambulance came to the scene to check on the infant, but there were no apparent injuries.

“This was a very traumatic incident, as we can see how (the accused) is feeling right now,” Mathu said, gesturing to the woman, who was crying throughout the entire hearing.

The infant was taken into the care of Child and Family Services, where she remains.

The woman was held in custody after the incident but released the next day following a contested bail hearing.

On Sept. 18, 2025, police were sent to the 400 block of 12th Street after receiving a report that the accused was highly intoxicated and had passed out in a front yard.

Police had to use pain compliance to wake her up. Officers noticed a strong odour of alcohol and slurred speech, and she was arrested for breaching her release order by drinking alcohol.

Later that same day, she was released.

On Oct. 2, 2025, police received a report that a woman was lying partially on the road near the Canad Inns. The caller didn’t know whether she was intoxicated or injured.

Police arrived and found her wallet near her with her identification in it. Officers woke her up and smelled alcohol on her. She was arrested for breaching her release order by drinking alcohol.

She was released again.

On Oct. 23, 2025, an employee at a temporary housing facility called police and said the accused was “extremely intoxicated and was being very disruptive.” Police arrested her and found an alcohol cooler in her bag, which was in breach of her release order. She was also in breach of her court-ordered curfew.

She has remained in custody since.

“So, what we have here is obviously someone in the throes of terrible addiction issues,” Mathu said.

While the accused has a short criminal record, the Crown said, “This is extremely serious offending … putting a young child at serious risk.” She added that police had multiple encounters with her earlier that day during which she was intoxicated.

Defence lawyer Bob Harrison said his client is a bright young woman who unfortunately deals with an addiction.

While in custody, he said she has completed workbooks involving alcohol and addiction management. He said she wanted to have her daughter back in her care and be a good mother, which is a strong motivation for her to get sober.

He said she does have Gladue factors, including that she was exposed to alcohol during her childhood and spent time in the care of Child and Family Services, which she described as tough.

“I think when she deals with the alcohol issue, she’ll be a very good mother and you won’t see her back in court. So that’s the key,” Harrison said.

When given a chance to speak, the woman apologized for her behaviour and said she is deeply ashamed of her actions.

“I’m just trying to work on forgiving myself and move forward in life,” she said through sobs. “I want to be a good mother … I want to be strong for my kids.”

Judge Catherine Hembroff told the woman she had “no doubt” she felt deeply ashamed and is having a hard time forgiving herself. She said she didn’t have to lecture her about how dangerous the situation was.

“I also have no doubt in my mind that you love your child very much,” she said. “I do hope that you get the help that you need.”

Hembroff went along with the lawyers’ joint recommendation.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com