To be sentenced for squeezing child’s throat, hitting her
A St. Ann mother who physically abused her child, and who seemed quite angry when she appeared in court last week, was told by the magistrate that the way she went about disciplining the child was cruel.
Senior resident magistrate Andrea Thomas also told the accused woman, Monique Reid, that there was a right and wrong way to go about disciplining children.
“You can’t do that, you can’t squeeze your child’s throat …,” the RM said as she listened to the accused woman’s story about what led her to physically abuse her eight-year-old daughter.
Reid, who is charged with child abuse pleaded guilty when she appeared before RM Thomas in the St. Ann’s Bay Resident Magistrates court last Thursday, October 2.
Allegations against Reid are that on September 28, the accused squeezed the throat of her eight-year-old daughter as well used an object to slap the child. A report was made to the police and Reid was arrested and charged.
RM Thomas offered the woman bail in the sum of $100,000 and has ordered a social enquiry report ahead of her sentencing which is set for November 21. The woman was told that sentencing will be determined by the report.
Prior to Reid being offered bail, she told the court that her daughter had misbehaved and that led her to squeezing the child’s throat and slapping her. “Mi a talk to har and she nah hear me, Your Honour” the accused said.
She explained to the court that the child, who was left in the care of an aunt, left the house about 10 o’clock one night for a nearby shop to purchase ice-cream. Reid said this was done without the knowledge of the aunt.
The woman said she was away working and on her return she scolded the child. RM Thomas told the woman that while it was necessary to discipline her child the way she went about it was cruel.
The magistrate further told the woman that she should refrain from disciplining the child when she was angry and encouraged her to work on her anger issues.
The court also learnt that since the incident the abused child, as well as the woman’s younger daughter, have been in the custody of their fathers.
