Queensland Mum Jailed For Relying On ‘The Hand Of God’ To Heal Her Sick Daughter

A Queensland mum has been jailed after she was accused of gross negligence when her daughter became sick.

The six-year-old was extremely pale and weighed just 13.4kgs when she was brought into Toowoomba Base Hospital's emergency department in 2019.

She had been experiencing weeks of vomiting and incontinence, according to the ABC, and was in such a state that medics had to revive her at the hospital.

The 48-year-old mum-of-eight, who can't be named for legal reasons, thought her daughter was suffering from a bad case of the flu or worms.

However, doctors said the young girl was on the verge of death due to undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

During the trial, the court heard how the defendant didn't intervene sooner because she believed God would step in.

She said: "I've never had to take my children or myself to the doctor because He has promised healing to us.

"I'm not denying it at all. She was sick, she had renal failure, swelling on the brain and a blood clot. "[But] God has promised healing."

The mum explained how her daughter was smart and at the 'top of her class', which she credited to God for doing.

Crown prosecutor Chantelle Petrie told Judge Jennifer Rosengren that the woman neglected her daughter and put her faith in religion to do the hard work.

"You can't play chicken in the name of faith. A cloak of faith doesn't permit you to abdicate this duty," she said.

Judge Rosengren agreed and sentenced the mum to 18 months behind bars, but she could be eligible for parole in just five months.

The girl's father has also been given a six-month suspended sentence over the same case earlier this year.

The judge was fairly savage when handing down the decision and sent a strong message to her parenting style.

"You failed to seek [medical attention] for [your daughter] when it was clearly required," Judge Rosengren said.

"You extended her suffering needlessly.

"It is necessary to impose a significant penalty in the hope to deter others from engaging in such objectively dangerous and unacceptable conduct whilst pursuing personal spiritual or religious beliefs."

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie