Mother who allegedly abandoned Montreal girl in Ontario field charged with criminal negligence

Prosecutor Lili Prévost-Gravel speaks to the media after a court hearing for the Montreal mother who allegedly abandoned her three-year-old daughter in a rural area of Ontario, in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., Wednesday, June 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

SALABERRY-DE-VALLEYFIELD — The Montreal mother who allegedly abandoned her daughter in a field in Ontario last month has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

The 34-year-old woman appeared in court this morning as part of her bail hearing at the courthouse in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., west of Montreal.

She has already been charged with unlawful abandonment of a child after allegedly leaving her three-year-old daughter in a rural area two weeks ago.

The accused, whose name is under a publication ban to protect her daughter’s identity, broke down in tears as she listened to the testimony of a Quebec provincial police officer.

The mother reported her daughter missing on June 15 and told police she had no memory of the previous six hours.

On June 18 the girl was found alive and conscious near a highway by Ontario Provincial Police officers who had launched their own search.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2025.