A young woman was placed under probation on Tuesday after a court heard about the way her children lived in squalor while she was living with her ex-partner.  

The woman was found guilty of having failed to take proper care of her children but not guilty of having injured them. The court said it was giving her a "window of opportunity" to mend her ways after having left her partner and reconciled with her husband.

The 28-old woman, whose identity is not being revealed so as to safeguard the interests of her three children, faced multiple charges, including negligence in the care of her two sons and daughter.

The alleged negligence had resulted in her daughter suffering fractures to her skull and legs.

Criminal proceedings against the woman were launched when the girl was admitted to hospital and was found to have suffered fractures to her skull and legs, allegedly caused by a man who was cohabiting with her mother at the time.

Separate proceedings were also instituted against the man.

Police and social workers who visited the family home came across a shocking state of neglect and squalor, with dirty ashtrays littering the place, one of them right next to the baby's cot.

The children's bed linen was soiled and a knife lay on the floor of their bedroom. Animal faeces were strewn around the home, with the mother stating that she had given up on cleaning since her partner’s pet pitbull would dirty the place as soon as she had finished her chores.

In the course of criminal proceedings, the court heard how the woman, an adopted child, had married at the age of 16, went through separation three years later and subsequently began an affair with the man, Josef, charged with having injured her minor child.

The woman's two sons testified via video conference and recounted a family outing to the Żabbar feast during which their mother's boyfriend, described as “dirty” and “rude”, had ended up drunk and had even been involved in a fight.

On the drive back home, the man crashed his car into another vehicle, the boys had told the court.

One of the boys even explained how the man's pitbull had killed his cats and “destroyed everything.”  

The children's mother also testified, stressing how she was a full-time mum, totally devoted to her family and always ensuring that her little ones were washed, fed and sent to school.

She also testified that she had not been aware of the abuse allegedly inflicted by her then-partner upon her daughter, adding further that she had broken off her relationship with the man as soon as she got to know of the injuries.

The woman also insisted that she was an "occasional and rare" drug user, a fact attested by Sedqa, which confirmed that the accused did not have a drug problem.

A report by Appoġġ concluded that the woman's difficult childhood had led to her immaturity. The court was advised to include a supervision order which would allow her assistance, thereby benefiting both her children and herself.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit observed that the woman had since left her abusive partner and had reconciled with her husband who was even in the process of adopting the woman’s daughter.

Magistrate Stafrace Zammit noted that she had been shown no proof of the accused threatened violence, nor of any direct cruelty to the children, as well as no evidence that the mother had caused the injuries suffered by the child, not even through negligence. 

Finding the mother guilty of having failed to take proper care of her children and of having smoked marijuana at the Żabbar feast, the court opted not to inflict punitive sanctions, instead imposing a probation order for one year on the young mother, who was cleared of all the other charges.

Lawyer Michael Tanti Dougall was defence counsel.

Inspectors Chris Pullicino, Sylvana Briffa and Edel Mary Camilleri prosecuted.