The mother and grandmother of a two-year-old girl who fell into a pond and drowned while they tended to their horses instead of her, have both been given a 12-month communtity order.
Masie Lomax-Newton was playing outside at her family’s farm in Atherton, Wigan, when the tragedy occurred on the morning of November 8, 2021.
CCTV footage shows the toddler splashing in puddles and running around Crab Fold Farm, before going to the pond by herself.
She was in the pond for 19 minutes and had been unsupervised for 33 minutes before she was found, Manchester Crown Court heard.
The little girl was rushed to Royal Oldham Hospital but sadly died on December 1.
Mother Emma Lomax-Newton, 30, and grandmother Cindy Molyneux, 52, previously pleaded guilty to child neglect.
It was indicated to them at the time by the judge that they wouldn’t go to prison.
They were both sentenced to a 12-month community order as well as 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR).
Mother Emma Lomax-Newton, 30, and grandmother Cindy Molyneux, 52, pleaded guilty to child neglect
They were both sentenced to a 12-month community order as well as 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR)
Neither women were said to have any previous convictions on their records
Prosecutor Rachel Shenton told the court that on November 8 2021, two-year-old Masie and her one-year-old brother were taken by Lomax-Newton and Molyneux to Crab Fold Farm for their regular daily visit.
They kept six horses at the farm and looked after horses belonging to other people, the prosecutor said.
The women and children arrived at around 10am when they started on general maintenance tasks including mucking the horses out and cleaning the paddocks.
Ms Shenton highlighted a few occasions where Masie was out of sight of her mother and grandmother before coming back into view.
The prosecutor said: ‘There was plastic fencing around the pond area, though it appeared to be down in one particular area.
‘Masie was seen there alone for four minutes between 12.18pm and 12.23pm, splashing in puddles.
‘At 12.22pm she then goes back to the farm and is playing by herself before wandering towards a muck heap.
‘Then from 12.47pm to 12.59pm she is seen walking to the right side of the pond before falling in.’
Lomax-Newton and Molyneux were seen looking for Masie before they found her at 1.18pm that day, the court heard.
Masie was treated for a global hypoxic brain injury, but sadly died on December 1, with her cause of death being recorded as a bronchopneumonic brain injury as a result of drowning.
When interviewed by police, Molyneux said she did not see Masie at the pond but admitted she had a large responsibility for looking after the children and that Masie had been out of her sight for 10 minutes.
Lomax-Newton maintained that her mother looked after the children whilst on the farm, and said she had seen Masie 10 minutes before they found her.
Neither women were said to have any previous convictions on their records.
The judge said the wider family had been significantly affected by the incident, though to a ‘greater extent’ were the defendants affected themselves.
Mitigating for Molyneux, Rachel Cooper said the harm caused was ‘permanent and palpable’.
‘The family has to live with the loss of Masie far beyond any sentence.
‘A child left unsupervised for one minute can cause themselves serious harm, just as a child left for half an hour may come to no harm at all’.
Ms Cooper added that there was no suggestion that Masie was ‘anything other than a loved, wanted and cared for child’.
Judge Nicholas Dean KC, presiding over the case, said: ‘What happened here could have happened to almost any mother or grandmother, even the most caring and careful.
‘A child left unsupervised for one minute can cause themselves serious harm, just as a child left for half an hour may come to no harm at all. There is an element of neglect here but punishment lies in the consequence of that neglect and the fact of the prosecution.
‘It’s a human frailty. There was no malevolence here, just a caution that you cannot ever be too careful.’
As a consequence of her death, social services became involved and found Molyneux to be a ‘loving and dedicated grandmother’, and said the entire family have supported both women.
The barrister said Masie was described as a ‘bright, loving, bubbly child who enjoyed books, singing and dancing’. ‘She was a much wanted and loved child’.