The mother of a three-year-old Montreal girl who was found alive after being abandoned in a rural Ontario field has been declared not criminally responsible of the crime.
Quebec court Judge Bertrand St-Arnaud has ruled that the 34-year-old woman cannot be held criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.
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The woman faced charges of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and unlawful abandonment of a child.
Both the Crown and the defence agreed on the facts of the case, including that the woman’s mental state should prevent her from being convicted.
St-Arnaud said he has read a lengthy psychiatric report on the accused that concluded she should be found not criminally responsible.
After three days of intensive searches, the girl was found alive and conscious on June 18 by Ontario Provincial Police officers near Casselman, Ont., about 120 kilometres west of Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
