By Patrick Burles

Blood Tribe couple given one year in jail in severe neglect case (WARNING: Graphic content)

Oct 27, 2017 | 5:41 PM

“She suffered unimaginably and obviously, while her parents completely neglected her situation.”

Justice James Langston made the statement Friday afternoon (Oct. 27), shortly before handing a one-year jail term to a Blood Tribe couple in a case of severe neglect. With credit for pre-trial custody, they have 310 days remaining on their sentence, with two years of probation to follow the time in custody.

The two individuals – who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child – entered guilty pleas in May of 2016, admitting to a charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life.

The Crown had been asking for 12 to 18 months in jail for the couple, while their lawyers had suggested one year of house arrest. The father’s counsel did acknowledge that if the judge felt jail time was necessary, then seven to 10 months would be appropriate.

In June of 2013, the couple’s nine-year-old daughter was brought into the Cardston emergency room with a life-threatening illness, caused by an infection that doctors say had likely been building for weeks or even months.

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Sentencing was then continually delayed, as the couple was enrolled in, but failed to take advantage of the Kainai Peacemaking Program. It combines Western and Aboriginal approach to restorative justice, including things like counselling and traditional ceremonies.

Langston specifically focussed on that failure while discussing the case and ultimately his sentencing decision.

“It is clear that there was a lack of focus or interest displayed by these two accused,” said Langston. “The fact that neither accused responded to the Peacemaker program suggests that they are either unmindful of or unwilling to accept their role in this case.”

Langston also reviewed the circumstances of the case, which were presented in an agreed statement of facts by the Crown and defence.

After being told by a family member that the couple’s child was clearly in distress and needed care, the girl was transported to hospital via ambulance. Once inside the Cardston emergency room, it was discovered that she was dehydrated, had severe low blood sugar, a high pulse and respiratory rate, couldn’t communicate, and had “a foul smell draining from her facial accesses that filled the entire emergency room.” There was also massive swelling to her face, parts of her jawbone were visibly exposed on both sides and there were lice throughout her hair.

The girl was airlifted to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, where the attending physician noted that her chances of survival were low. She then spent the next seven days in the ICU and was treated for septic shock, severe malnutrition and later pancreatitis.

Doctors believe the infection that threatened the girl’s life started as tooth decay that went untreated for weeks or even months.

“A reasonably observant caregiver would have accessed the medical system long before the severe presentation, which finally led the caregivers to take her to the hospital,” stated Langston. “The severe weight loss, including the severe loss of muscle mass, should have been obvious to any caregiver… This was a long, slow process.”

Having said that, Langston did acknowledge the importance of Gladue factors in the case, which take into account the Aboriginal heritage of the couple.

In the father’s case, he lived in a home filled with violence and alcohol abuse, before moving into foster care and being abused by other students while in a residential school.

While the mother’s childhood was much better, he noted that she developed a substance abuse problem in her teens and dropped out of school in grade seven, adding that she may have spent a very brief period of time in a residential school.

Langston noted part of the Crown’s sentencing submissions, in which it was stated that without the Gladue factors, they may have been looking for a sentence as high as 30-months.

At the time the girl was hospitalized, the family’s home on the Blood Reserve was noted to be a two-bedroom trailer, and that one of the rooms was uninhabitable as it was overrun with mold.

While she survived the ordeal, and is now in good health, she will require further surgeries going forward and is receiving psychological therapy for medical trauma and neglect. She has also been removed from the home along with her two older siblings.

“This child deserved the care and attention of her parents, and they failed her,” said Langston as he worked up to revealing his decision. “There’s no reason or excuse for their conduct. They violated the trust which society and this child placed with them. I’m not sure they fully understand this fact.

“As a result of their negligence, this child will forever bare physical and emotional scars.”

(Story by Lethbridge News Now)