Judge sentences mom of badly malnourished kids to 5 ½ years, citing 'unforgivable moral and legal failure'

Two severely malnourished children who were apprehended from their parents in 2023 may now need to use feeding tubes for the rest of their lives, a Winnipeg court heard as their mother was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on Tuesday.

The judge who handed down that sentence called the woman's repeated refusal of attempts by family and authorities to get her children the help they needed "an unforgivable moral and legal failure."

By the time the children were apprehended, the eight-year-old boy was close to death from malnourishment, couldn't walk on his own and weighed 25 pounds, and his five-year-old sister was on the same path, Crown attorney Keri Anderson read from an agreed statement of facts.

Authorities found the boy balled up on a mat on the floor where he slept, with a bowl beside him. One social worker described him as "skeletal," while another worker called the situation "something she had not seen in her 29-year career in child protection."

"In retrospect, it's too bad he wasn't taken from the control of this accused sooner. As it's now clear, she was entirely incapable of caring for him and protecting him as she should have," provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald told a courtroom that included some of the woman's family and the foster father who's been caring for the children since they were apprehended.

In a victim impact statement, that foster dad detailed how far the children, now 11 and 8, have come since being removed from their parents — and how far they still have to go.

"Had these children been given the right environment, they would have thrived," the statement said. "I am still hopeful for these children, but the mountain in front of them now is enormous."

The children's biological parents — who can't be identified because of a publication ban protecting the children's identities — both pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm in the case last year. The father will be sentenced at a later date.

Court heard both of the malnourished children had food aversions their parents didn't know how to deal with or seek help for. They hadn't seen a doctor in years or ever been to a dentist.

There were also three older children in the home at the time, who were apprehended after their younger siblings were removed. Some of those children were in court Tuesday as their mother was taken into custody, including one who submitted a drawing to express how they felt as part of the sentencing.

Defence lawyer Jeremy Kostiuk said the woman has psychological issues and was in an abusive relationship that prevented her from getting help, asking for a five-year sentence.

"Her main takeaway from all of this is that she's glad that the children are in a better situation than they were. Her remorse is obvious, and it runs far deeper than simple self-pity and fear of imprisonment," he said.

Prosecutor Anderson asked for a seven-year sentence, arguing the woman had a chance every day to get help.

CFS worker left job after case

Photos of the boy submitted to court showed "skinny bent legs that he was unable to straighten" and "his ribs pointing out of his chest," Anderson said. Photos showed his sister's leg was significantly bowed.

The impact of the case was far-reaching, court heard. A child welfare worker who became involved reported struggling with mental health issues and ended up leaving front-line work as a result of what she encountered.

"It's changed her and her life. She finds herself struggling with the question of how this could be allowed to happen," Anderson said.

However, "she says she would go through it all again to save these children."

Anderson said in her view, there was "not really much sympathetic" about the woman outlined in a pre-sentence report, describing her as "a mother who lied to her family and to professionals when it came to the well-being of her children."

After the children were apprehended, their mother told authorities the young boy had largely stopped eating two years earlier — refusing to have "anything besides Goldfish crackers and chicken nuggets" — and when she tried to get him to eat he would "start puking," the statement of facts read in court said.

More recently, he'd become unable to walk and started refusing to go to the bathroom.

"She noted that she was always worried for [him], but she did not know where to go for help. She was afraid to take him to the doctor because everyone would think that it was her fault," the statement of facts said.

She said she knew her youngest daughter was also unhealthy and "a little bowlegged," but "didn't know it was that bad."

Between May 2021 and the spring of 2022, school workers made several visits to the home, noting the boy was mobile but unsteady on his feet and small for his age. His mother told them he had hip dysplasia, which she said explained his limp, and added it was hard to get to the doctor because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March 2022, a protection file was opened on the family with Winnipeg Child and Family Services, with concerns including lack of attendance at school, poor parenting and improper supervision, the statement of facts said.

In December of that year, the family's assigned child welfare worker started reporting medical neglect issues about the boy to a supervisor.

School staff repeatedly spoke to the mother, who stayed home with them while their father worked full time, about taking the boy to the doctor. In response, she "always brought up excuses, including not having a health card."

By early March 2023, the boy could not stand or crawl. In a meeting with the school at one point, a plan was made for a grandparent to watch the other kids while the parents took the boy to the hospital that weekend.

The mother later said there had been a blizzard that stopped her mom from coming to watch the kids — but after speaking with the grandmother, authorities learned there was never any plan for her to come over.