The 32-year-old mother who reportedly abandoned her newborn baby two days before Christmas is expected to appear in court either today or tomorrow charged with child abandonment. The woman, of Tacarigua, remained detained at the Arouca Police Station up to late yesterday as investigators visited the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice on charges which could be laid against her.
Investigators were said to be considering charging the woman under Section Three of the Children Act, under which the offence carries a $10,000 fine or up to two years' imprisonment. According to reports, the baby boy was found on December 23 outside the St Mary's Children's Home, Tacarigua, by guards who heard his cries.
The baby, who has not been named, remains under the care of nurses at the Wendy Fitzwilliam Paediatric Hospital, Mt?Hope. The child's mother, who also has two other young children, was arrested at her Tacarigua home on Tuesday evening by Northern Division detectives.
Police sources said while under interrogation after her arrest, the woman admitted to leaving the child at the orphanage, saying she could not financially support another child. ACP Wayne Dick, Senior?Supt David Abraham and WPC Dick-Francis are working on the case.