A B.C. Supreme Court Justice has found a Williams Lake woman guilty of assaulting and failing to properly care for her infant son.
In a reasons for judgment issued Friday, Justice Robert Jenkins found the woman, whose identity was limited to the initials SH, shook the boy on six occasions from the time he was a newborn to six months old, struck him on the head four times between nine and 10 months old, causing bruising, and squeezed his torso at 10 months old. On one of the assaults, when the boy was three or four months old, she fractured one of his ribs.
Jenkins also found she failed to properly feed him, obtain appropriate medical care for him and provide accurate information to his doctors regarding how often he was fed.
The woman was 19 years old when her son was born in September 2011. By that time, her relationship with the father had ended but she had moved in with someone else who had two children from a prior relationship.
The daughter of parents with addiction troubles, she grew up "abandoned and lacking the guidance of concientious parenting," Jenkins said.
In Grade 11, she was suspended from high school and moved to her grandparents in Clinton for about a year and completed school.
She then returned to Williams Lake where she "couch surfed," staying temporarily with friends, in a homeless shelter and other spots and relied on social assistance before discovering she was pregnant.
She had also become depressed and was taking anti-depressants and testified she had difficulty getting out of bed to care for her baby during his first months.
Physicians who examined the boy found he was below the weight typical for children of his age and lacked energy. She also missed doctors appointments and injuries that were inconsistent with the mother's stories about how the boy got them were found.
By November 2012, the Ministry of Children and Family Development had removed him from her care.
Defence counsel conceded the mother effectively admitted the assault charge when interviewed by RCMP.
As for failing to provide the necessities of life, Jenkins agreed she was suffering from depression but it did not amount to a "lawful excuse."
The woman will be sentenced at a later date.
