A Queensland mum has been sentenced to two years of supervision after taking a punishment against her daughter way too far. The mum left her 14-year-old semi-naked on the roadside and drove off, as part of a punishment, a judge has heard.
But this is just the beginning.
‘Brain snap’
The Queensland mum admitted in court last week that she ‘snapped’ during an argument with her 14-year-old daughter.
The incident took place last January in the Kingaroy area and the mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and child cruelty.
The woman explained how she and her daughter were driving in the car when they got into an argument & punishment. The mother pulled over and told the daughter to get out of the car, which she did. The girl then ran to a nearby house and knocked on the door.
There was no answer so the girl ran around the back of the house and hid.
Struck her in the face and dragged her back to the car
The mother then got out of the car and chased the girl, tackled her to the ground, and dragged her back to the car. She then struck the girl in the face. The girl fought back but the mum managed to get her daughter back into the car and started to drive again.
Once again, the women started to argue. This time, the mother got out of the car, told her daughter to also get out, and forcibly removed all her clothes apart from her bra.
The mother told her daughter she never wanted to see her again and drove off.
Visibly upset and scared ( punishment )
With the mother gone, the 14-year-old tried to wave some people down who drove past but they didn’t stop. She then hid behind some bushes and started to cry.
An off-duty police officer found her “visibly upset, punishment and scared”.
The Judge also heard that the mother turned around about 800m after she left her daughter and drove back but she didn’t see her daughter on the road anymore. She admits her actions were the cause of a “brain snap.”
Because of the incident, the teen was left with bruising under her eye, abrasions on her knee, and humiliation.
‘Beyond the realms of anything that might be acceptable’
Judge Gary Long SC said in sentencing remarks published this week,
You immediately admitted your offending, describing it as a brain snap, you had done the wrong thing, you recognised that you should not have allowed yourself to get that upset.
Nevertheless … there is your offending conduct in the nature of your cruelty to your child, causing harm, by deserting her and leaving her in such a vulnerable situation on the side of the road, and in a way which was clearly designed then to humiliate and degrade her.
It does you no credit that you were prepared to do that, even if only for a limited period of time.”
The judge also told the mum that her actions “went beyond the realms of anything that might be acceptable” in terms of parental discipline.
Since the incident, the mother has lost custody of her daughter as well as other children. No details were released about whether this was related to this particular incident or another situation.
The mum has since been sentenced to two years of supervision and ordered to undertake psychiatric treatment. We can only hope her teen daughter is now being taken care of in a suitable environment.
What to read next
- Melbourne Toddler Left in Hot Car Suffers Severe Brain Damage While Mum Played Pokies
- Mum ‘Brain Snap’ Caused Her to Lose Custody After Smacking Son With a Spoon
- Tragedy Unfolds as Father Shakes Newborn Son to Death
