Mom's abuse conviction overturned |
Ontario's highest court has overturned convictions against a Toronto mother convicted of aggravated assault and failure to provide the necessities of life in the abuse of her 4-lb. baby.
In a judgment released yesterday, the Court of Appeal ordered an acquittal for the now 25-year-old woman on the failure charge, citing the verdict as unreasonable due to a lack of evidence.
The court also quashed the assault conviction and ordered a new trial, noting the trial judge Justice Peter Jarvis erred in his instructions to the jury on that offence.
"My client is ecstatic. She has always maintained her innocence," said her appeals lawyer Greg Lafontaine.
"The conviction that was registered for aggravated assault was seriously flawed. The judge gave misleading instructions that led jury members to believe they could convict my client for assault even though she never intended it to happen.
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