An unemployed woman charged with five counts of cruelty to children pleaded guilty on four of the counts in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's (RM) Court yesterday.

Christina Spencer, 37, from Nine Miles, Bull Bay, St Andrew, was remanded until June 16 for sentencing.

Allegations are that on April 20, three children were placed in the care of the accused by their father who had gone to visit the children's mother who is incarcerated at the Fort Augustus Adult Correctional Centre.

Shortly after, Spencer, who has two children, left the home taking one of her children with her. The others were left on their own.

Subsequently, some concerned neighbours alerted the police. When they arrived, the children were found in a dilapidated building without anyone exercising parental guardianship or control.

The Crown argued that Spencer wilfully neglected the children causing them to be exposed to unnecessary suffering and danger.

previously molested

At the same time the court heard that the father of the three children left in Spencer's care, had previously molested one of his daughters, which led the child's mother to use a stick to damage the child's eye.

The investigating officer told the court that they have been unable to apprehend the children's father because since then he has been on the run.

Senior RM Judith Pusey questioned whether the accused was of sound mind and ordered that a psychiatric evaluation be done. She also ordered that probation officers carry out a social enquiry into the matter.