Costa del Sol
Mother could lose custody for leaving her daughters forgotten at a Málaga school
By m.p. - Nov 5, 2009 - 11:31 AM
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A mother taking her child to school - EFE archive
She and her husband both claimed to the court they thought the other had collected the girls
A mother of two young daughters left forgotten at a Málaga school until late at night one day this May is on the accused bench this week, where she faces a possible six months in prison and losing custody of her children. Her husband, the girls’ step-father, is also charged in the case.
The daughters, aged 6 and 9, finished their extra-curricular activities at 7pm that day, but it was not until shortly before 2am, Diario Su reports, that the two accused turned up at the local police station to ask about the girls. The 48 year old, M.E.G., told the court on Wednesday that she was in the church where she works as a volunteer until 11 o’clock that night, preparing for a conference which was due to take place. Both mother and husband claimed they thought the other had collected the youngsters.
The Paraguayan mother admitted to the panel of judges that her daughters had not been cared for as they should owing to the family’s financial situation at the time, claiming they had been 40 days without any electricity in their home and two weeks without gas.
The court heard evidence from a neighbour that the girls were often left alone at home until late at night, with the elder left in charge of the younger. The school monitor who tried to contact the parents to collect the youngsters at 8pm that night meanwhile told the court that the phone at first went unanswered and was then hung up.
The mother said at the end of the trial on Thursday morning, begging that her daughters not be taken away from her, ‘Thanks to the state and the prosecutor I have learnt, I will now be the most exemplary mother in the world.’ Sentencing is expected shortly.