Teenager placed on curfew, year’s community service for giving child ganja
A teenager has been ordered to perform community service for giving a two-year-old child a marijuana cigarette to smoke and for publishing, on Facebook, photographs of the child in the act.{{more}}
The boy, 13, was on Wednesday put on curfew for one year, and ordered to do six months each of community service and counselling, after he pleaded guilty to the charges at the Family Court.
If he breaches his sentence, he will be given six strokes.
The boy, who is the toddlerâs uncle, was jointly charged with the childâs mother, Rianna Cole, 31 and Coleâs 18-year-old step-brother Philbert Delpesche, all of Old Montrose.
On June 7, the three were charged with, for the purpose of public exhibition, having in their possession an obscene picture tending to corrupt morals, a photograph of the child, a juvenile, smoking cannabis, at Old Montrose between January 1, 2013 and June 4, 2013.
The two adults were charged with, having attained the age of 17, and having the care of the child, a juvenile, wilfully caused her to be exposed in a manner likely to cause injury to her health, by giving her a cannabis cigarette to smoke, between January 1, 2013 and June 4, 2013.
They were also charged with, being charged with the duty of providing the child, a juvenile, the necessities of life, without lawful excuse, failed to do so whereby the health of the child was likely to be seriously damaged or injured.
When they appeared at the Family Court on June 7, they all pleaded guilty.
However, at the sentencing hearing on July 15, Cole and Delpesche changed their guilty pleas and their matters were adjourned to October for hearing.
The three were arrested following the publication of two photographs of the child on the boyâs Facebook account. The photographs of the child with the marijuana cigarette were posted on June 1.
One of the photographs shows the child holding the cannabis cigarette in her mouth, while seated in the lap of what appeared to be a male figure.
The other photograph shows the child, by herself, with what appeared to be a lighted cannabis cigarette in her mouth.(KW)
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