Latest news with #OlivierBéliveau
Globe and Mail
8 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Montreal mom charged with abandoning daughter in ‘immense distress,' in custody until hearing
The Montreal mother who allegedly abandoned her three-year-old daughter in rural Ontario, triggering a four-day hunt for the child across two provinces, will remain detained until her bail hearing early next month. On Friday, the mother's legal-aid lawyer said he will try to have his client released pending the outcome of the criminal case, adding that he is working on a plan to get her the help she needs. The 34-year-old woman faces one count of unlawful abandonment of a child, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 'Right now, we are currently dealing with someone who is experiencing immense distress,' Olivier Béliveau told reporters about his client at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse, west of Montreal. 'This is someone who needs help.' The accused, whose name is under a publication ban to protect the identity of the three-year-old, is alleged to have abandoned the girl in Casselman, Ont., on Sunday afternoon. Following an intense search by police and volunteers, she was spotted four days later by an Ontario Provincial Police drone along Highway 417 about 50 kilometres west of the Quebec boundary. Lawyers set hearing dates of July 3 and July 4 for the woman's bail hearing. In addition to ordering a publication ban on the accused's name, Quebec court Judge Bertrand St-Arnaud also signed off on Friday on an order preventing her from contacting the three-year-old or the girl's father. The accused will remain detained at the Leclerc detention centre in Laval, north of Montreal. The defence has so far not requested a psychological assessment for her. No additional charges were laid during the 15-minute hearing on Friday. The Crown has said it opposes bail for the woman, who doesn't have a criminal record. Prosecutor Lili Prévost-Gravel told the court that disclosure of the evidence has started but will take some time. The mother reported her daughter missing on Sunday at a business in Coteau-du-Lac, Que., west of Montreal, and told police she had no recollection of the previous six hours or the toddler's whereabouts. Provincial police and volunteer search teams spent days combing the roadside and forests in part of southwestern Quebec before figuring out the accused had travelled to Ontario. The girl was found alive and conscious by Ontario Provincial Police officers who had started their own search.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mother of Quebec toddler found earlier this week 'needs help,' lawyer says
The lawyer for the mother of a three-year-old girl who was found earlier this week alone in an Ontario field said Friday that his client is unwell. The mother appeared in court briefly while lawyers set a new date for her bail hearing and a judge authorized a publication ban on the case. "We have a person here who is living with immense distress. This is someone who needs help," said Olivier Béliveau, the lawyer. The mother cannot be named due to a publication ban that now protects the identity of her daughter, the three-year-old who went missing last Sunday and was found three days later after an intensive search. The mother was "extremely relieved" when news reached her that her daughter was safe, Béliveau said. She has been charged with child abandonment, which carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison. Defence lawyers intend to present a bail plan for the mother that would see her receive "support and get her help," Béliveau added. He said the defence was not seeking a psychiatric evaluation, for now. Lili Prévost-Gravel, the Crown prosecutor, said the prosecution remains opposed to the mother's release on the grounds that it is not in the public interest. "She can receive care in the infirmary of the detention centre. That's a right she has as an inmate," Prévost-Gravel said. Prosecutors were continuing to analyze the evidence, she said. More charges could be brought against the mother in the future. The toddler was found on Wednesday when an Ontario Provincial Police drone spotted her by the side of Highway 417, near St-Albert, Ont., about 150 kilometres west of Montreal. It was the best-case-scenario end to a four-day search that had included up to 200 officers and trained volunteers, police on horseback, a helicopter and ATVs. The girl had last been seen in Montreal's LaSalle borough on Sunday morning. Her mother reported her missing a few hours later at a store in Coteau-du-Lac, about 50 kilometres west of Montreal. The case will return to court in July for a bail hearing.
CBC
12 hours ago
- CBC
Mother of Quebec toddler found earlier this week 'needs help,' lawyer says
The lawyer for the mother of a three-year-old girl who was found earlier this week alone in an Ontario field said Friday that his client is unwell. The mother appeared in court briefly while lawyers set a new date for her bail hearing and a judge authorized a publication ban on the case. "We have a person here who is living with immense distress. This is someone who needs help," said Olivier Béliveau, the lawyer. The mother cannot be named due to a publication ban that now protects the identity of her daughter, the three-year-old who went missing last Sunday and was found three days later after an intensive search. The mother was "extremely relieved" when news reached her that her daughter was safe, Béliveau said. She has been charged with child abandonment, which carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison. Defence lawyers intend to present a bail plan for the mother that would see her receive "support and get her help," Béliveau added. He said the defence was not seeking a psychiatric evaluation, for now. Lili Prévost-Gravel, the Crown prosecutor, said the prosecution remains opposed to the mother's release on the grounds that it is not in the public interest. "She can receive care in the infirmary of the detention centre. That's a right she has as an inmate," Prévost-Gravel said. Prosecutors were continuing to analyze the evidence, she said. More charges could be brought against the mother in the future. The toddler was found on Wednesday when an Ontario Provincial Police drone spotted her by the side of Highway 417, near St-Albert, Ont., about 150 kilometres west of Montreal. It was the best-case-scenario end to a four-day search that had included up to 200 officers and trained volunteers, police on horseback, a helicopter and ATVs. The girl had last been seen in Montreal's LaSalle borough on Sunday morning. Her mother reported her missing a few hours later at a store in Coteau-du-Lac, about 50 kilometres west of Montreal.
