At the behest of a father, a judge has lifted a publication ban on the identity of a boy nearly killed by a cocaine overdose given to him by his mother.
“I am compelled to seek this because my son’s welfare urgently depends on it,” Steve Fitz-Charles told Ontario Superior Court Justice Tamarin Dunnet Monday at the mother’s sentencing hearing.
“His identity must be revealed so that he can access the appropriate care and support, instead of condemnation and ridicule.”
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Malique Broomfield Fitz-Charles, now 7, can be named.
The boy has ongoing learning and health problems from the overdose and faces possible permanent brain damage, blindness, seizures and behavioural problems.
The lifting of the publication ban, imposed by Dunnet last year, means that the name of his mother can also be revealed: Tamara Broomfield, 26.
In April 2009, Dunnet convicted the Scarborough woman of assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault endangering life, failing to provide the necessities of life and administering a noxious substance with the intent to endanger life.
The judge found that she gave Malique cocaine over a 14-month period in 2004 and 2005, when he was a toddler.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
On Monday, Fitz-Charles told the judge he believes Broomfield, his former live-in girlfriend, may harm Malique, and that the danger would be heightened by the fact that “no one knows who or what Ms Broomfield looks like …
“It is one thing to punish a child abuser; it is another to demand that their reputation and crimes be protected from the public at the end of a fair trial,” Fitz-Charles told the judge.
“I believe that it is the public’s overwhelming interest to have access to details of this crime, to know that abuse like this happens to innocent children.”
Dunnet will sentence Broomfield on July 8.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Pilla called for a term of eight years, minus a credit of 14 months for pre-trial custody.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Defence lawyer Daniel Brown asked for two more years on top of time served and three years probation.
After she was convicted, Broomfield asked for a new trial, alleging that her former lawyer, Terry Kirichenko, cut corners in her defence because of his then-impending suspension.
But in March, Dunnet ruled that Kirichenko did not breach his duty of loyalty to her. So the judge turned down her request for a new trial.
