A major issue in Australia and New Zealand involves parents leaving their children alone while they play pokies. Over the course of the past year, we have seen many cases of this happening, and the most recent case occurred in June when a woman was found to have left her grandchildren in her car while she played poker machines.
This week, the woman (whose named has been withheld in order to protect the identities of the children) has pleaded guilty to two counts of child neglect in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court. She was charged with ‘leaving a child under 12 for an unreasonable time without making provision for supervision and care for the child’. She was discovered to have left her grandchildren in the car on June 10.
Police were called to the scene when witnesses noticed that the children were locked in the car and screaming. According to reports, she had stopped the car to go to the washroom at the Fitzroy Hotel. She was distracted by a poker machine and decided to make a $1 wager. The bet granted her a series of free spins, which kept her at the game much longer than she expected.
While the police state that she was gone for half an hour, she claims that it was only 5 minutes. As the primary carer for the children, the woman has received a somewhat light sentence. She has been placed on 12 months’ probation and received a scolding from Magistrate Bruce Schemioneck: “Do not ever leave those children again”.
Her conviction will not be recorded. Due to her blue card status, she will not have a criminal record.
About the Author
