Pokies negligence leaves baby with permanent brain damage
A Melbourne mother has been jailed for leaving her toddler in a car in 37.5-degree heat while she played Bingo and Pokies at the pub, resulting in him suffering severe permanent injuries.
In January 2020, Kaija Millar spent five hours inside the pub before she checked on her son, Easton, who was left in the car with the windows up. She found him unresponsive and convulsing.
When a doctor and two nurses rushed over from a nearby medical centre, Millar lied to them saying the smoke haze in the area had made him sick, then later when paramedics arrived, she lied again saying she had left the car windows open and she only left Easton for two hours.
Witnesses told police that all the windows were up and security footage shows Millar didn’t check on her son at all in the time she was there.
Millar today appeared in the County Court of Victoria where she was ordered to spend three years in prison over the incident that occurred almost two years ago at a Point Cook pub.
She can apply for parole after 12 months.
The court heard Easton has a severe brain injury, suffers from cerebral palsy and is permanently blind because of his mother’s actions.
Judge Felicity Hampel said Millar's actions had "catastrophic consequences".
"This was not a tragic accident, something unforeseen, unanticipated and unavoidable," she said.
"Your child is now profoundly disabled. You know that, and you know it's your conduct that brought it."
The court heard that Millar, who pleaded guilty to negligently causing serious injury, had low intellectual functioning.
Irit Jackson, 14th February 2022
