Parents plead guilty to criminal negligence after 8-year-old found 'close to death' from malnutrition

The parents of an eight-year-old found "severely malnourished and close to death" in 2023 have pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm, in a case where it took more than two years after a social worker first noticed signs of the boy's health troubles for authorities to remove him and his four siblings, a court filing says.

When Winnipeg child welfare workers arrived at the home the day the boy was apprehended in March 2023, he was balled up on a mat on the floor where he slept, with a bowl beside him, an agreed statement of facts filed in Manitoba provincial court last month said.

One social worker described the boy as "skeletal," while another worker described the situation as "something she had not seen in her 29-year career in child protection," the court document said.

The boy couldn't extend his legs, struggled to sit up and hadn't walked independently for around 20 months or used the toilet on his own for about a year. His five-year-old sister was also malnourished and "deteriorating similarly" — while her condition was less severe, "she was on the same path."

Both children had food aversions their parents didn't know how to deal with or seek help for, the court document said. 

The children weren't going to school, and had dental issues and head lice. They hadn't seen a doctor in years or ever been to a dentist. The home was described as filthy, with "significant hoarding."

[The mother] noted that she was always worried for [him], but she did not know where to go for help.- Manitoba provincial court document

Their mother later told authorities the boy had largely stopped eating two years earlier — refusing to have "anything besides Goldfish crackers and chicken nuggets" — and when she tried to get him to eat he would "start puking," the statement of facts said. More recently, he became unable to walk and started refusing to go to the bathroom.

"She noted that she was always worried for [him], but she did not know where to go for help. She was afraid to take him to the doctor because everyone would think that it was her fault," the court document said.

She said she also knew her youngest daughter was also unhealthy and "a little bowlegged," but "didn't know it was that bad."

Meanwhile, the children's father "acknowledged that the situation was 'definitely f----d'" but "did not have anything to say" about why his son was never taken to a doctor, the statement of facts said.

When the children were apprehended, the five-year-old girl weighed about 33 pounds, while her eight-year-old brother weighed roughly 25 pounds.

The parents, who can't be named because it would identify their children, will be sentenced at a later date.

Signs of trouble in 2020

The first signs of trouble came in November 2020, when a school social worker came over to assess the boy for the following school year. She noticed he had a limp, and that his younger sister was small and in a diaper, and later informed a child welfare worker the kids weren't going to school, the agreed statement of facts said.

Between May 2021 and the spring of 2022, school workers made several visits to the home, noting the boy was mobile but unsteady on his feet and small for his age. His mother told them he had hip dysplasia, which she said explained the limp, and added it was hard to get to the doctor because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In March 2022, a protection file was opened on the family with Winnipeg Child and Family Services, with concerns including lack of attendance at school, poor parenting and improper supervision, the court document said. The following September, the mother registered the three oldest children in school.

In December, the family's assigned child welfare worker started reporting medical neglect issues about the boy to a supervisor. 

The following month, the mother agreed to go to an elementary school with the two youngest children to discuss registering them. At the time, she had to carry the boy, who was still diapered, because he was not walking and was unable to support himself. 

He ended up being placed in a Grade 2 class, and would get around by using a stroller and tricycle or by pulling himself along the floor with his hands in a "bum scoot," the court document said. 

A school physiotherapist said the boy fatigued quickly and got tired after crawling 15 feet, while a speech language pathologist noted he was only able to name three colours.

Staff were also concerned by how little food the boy ate — one or two Goldfish crackers, or one or two bites of apple, the document said. 

School staff repeatedly spoke to the children's mother, who stayed home with them while their father worked full time, about taking the boy to the doctor. In response, she "always brought up excuses, including not having a health card."

'Not like he is going to die today': father

By early March 2023, the boy could not stand or crawl. In a meeting with the school, a plan was made for a grandparent to watch the other kids while the parents took the boy to the hospital that weekend.

The mother later said there had been a blizzard that stopped her mom from coming to watch the kids — but after speaking with the grandmother, authorities learned there was never any plan for her to come over. 

Later that day, child welfare workers apprehended the boy, who was taken to hospital. The father later arrived at the home "yelling and irate," said it was "not like he is going to die today" and gave "no reasonable excuse" for the boy's condition, the document said. 

Two days later, the rest of the children were also removed from the home. The boy was diagnosed with conditions including avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. He had more than 20 bone fractures and a bloodstream infection with sepsis. His sister was diagnosed with global developmental delay with features of autism spectrum disorder.

The court filing noted it's possible the cognitive development of both children could be affected.