A HUNTER mother who injected ice and smoked cannabis in the hours before she fell asleep in the bathtub with her 10-week-old daughter, causing the baby girl to nearly drown, will only serve three months behind bars after she successfully appealed against the severity of her jail term.
The woman, 41, who cannot be named because it would identify the little girl, told police she put her daughter in a baby bath at one end of the bathtub, put the plug in, turned the water on and got in the other end.
She said she awoke sometime later to find the bath filled with water and the little girl unconscious.
Tragically, despite the quick intervention of paramedics who rushed the little girl to hospital, she suffered likely permanent injuries, including a hypoxic brain injury and acquired cerebral palsy.
It is not currently possible, due to the girl's age, to determine if she has suffered lasting cognitive effects.
The woman pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm by negligent act and in January was jailed in Newcastle Local Court for a maximum of nine months, with a non-parole period of five months by Magistrate Robert Stone, who told the woman it was an "extremely negligent act" to fall asleep with a baby in the bath.
The woman received a significant reduction on her sentence in part due to what is called an Ellis discount, where an accused person voluntarily discloses to the unknowing authorities details that lead them to be charged with a crime.
The woman's solicitor, Peter Bates, lodged an appeal against the severity of her sentence and she was later granted bail.
Judge Ian Bourke, SC, upheld the appeal in Newcastle District Court this week and reduced the woman's sentence to a fixed term of three months jail.
The woman will be eligible for parole in September.
The woman told police she injected ice sometime on the morning of March 10, 2018, and later that day she smoked two cones of cannabis.
She couldn't sleep that night and went for a walk about 2am before returning home and sleeping until about 7am.
At about 10am she smoked another cone of cannabis and sometime later that morning fell asleep on the couch.
At about 1pm she made the girl some crumpets with honey but then noticed the girl was cold so she took her into the bathroom to run a bath.
She told police she put the girl in a baby bath at one end of the bath, put the plug in, turned the water on and then got into the other end of the bath.
The shower head was positioned between the young girl and her mother.
The woman said her last memory was giving the girl some honey from the crumpet before she fell asleep.
The woman was interviewed by Child Abuse Squad detectives in September, 2018, and admitted she had used drugs before falling asleep.
The woman was charged with a number of offences, including grievous bodily harm by negligent act, and while on bail in July, 2019, walked into Best and Less at Maitland and stuffed bras and underpants into her bag in "full unobstructed view" of CCTV cameras.
The woman was jailed for one month for shoplifting in the local court, but appealed that sentence and was given a two-year community corrections order designed to assist with her drug rehabilitation.
[During an interview], the woman made admissions about her drug use prior to the offence.
Police said in a statement of agreed facts.
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