A judge said she was 'troubled' to hear a woman who pleaded guilty to endangering the life of a disabled child by giving her unprescribed morphine, later told an assessor she had not committed the offence.
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Susan Lizzul, 54, was sentenced for reckless conduct endangering serious injury at the County Court in Ballarat on Tuesday.
Lizzul pleaded guilty to the charge on February 19, the day her trial was set to begin, and Judge Meryl Sexton ordered she be assessed for a community corrections order.
The court heard Lizzul told the assessor she did not commit the offence, had pleaded guilty to move on with her life, and believed someone else was responsible for administering the morphine.
"I was already troubled by a lack of explanation in the plea, but this does take it one step further," Judge Sexton said.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Moore said Lizzul showed zero remorse.
"It leaves a very uneasy feeling when someone enters a plea of guilty with this explanation," he said.
"It is not only the fact she denies committing the offence, but that she nominates (another person) as the perpetrator. It is troubling."
Lizzul was the foster carer of a disabled child who became unwell with diarrhea, vomiting and seizures and was admitted to hospital in a 'wavering conscious state'.
Doctors formed the opinion a relatively large dose of morphine was administered to the child shortly before they were taken to hospital.
A search warrant executed at Lizzul's home found morphine in the garage that had been prescribed to her son and daughter years earlier for palliative care.
The prosecution submitted Lizzul had access to morphine and opportunities alone in the house with the child to administer it before she was taken to hospital.
The child was released from hospital after 17 days, including intensive care at the Royal Children's Hospital.
It is my opinion the child's life was certainly endangered.
- A doctor's evidence.
"Had (the child) not received the initial intensive treatment and then subsequent 17 days of hospital treatment, it is my opinion the child would have died."
Judge Sexton said Lizzul had admitted to administering morphine by her plea of guilty, but the law said any person may plead guilty to reasons other than their guilt.
"You told corrections you had not administered the morphine, you pleaded guilty to move on with your life and you nominated (another person) as the perpetrator," she said.
Judge Sexton said she did not treat Lizzul's plea of guilty as a sign of remorse, but this lack of remorse was not an aggravating feature.
She said Lizzul's plea of guilty saved the expense of a trial and trauma to the family, but the court was left with no understanding of her motive.
Judge Sexton said she took the 'enormous' impact on the child's family into account.
"Her family... have suffered not only the immediate aftermath... but their trust in any other carer was completely destroyed," she said.
This has had a huge emotional, financial and psychological toll on the family. The mother says the terrible event will never disappear from their view.
- Judge Meryl Sexton
Judge Sexton said she also took into account the work Lizzul had done in the disability sector, both voluntary and paid, for many years, the death of her two children and her own health issues in sentencing.
The court heard Lizzul also had no criminal history and would be sentenced as a person of good character.
Lizzul began caring for others while she was at school and had cared for many disabled children in her home and offered families respite in a voluntary capacity throughout her life.
The court heard at the time of the offence, Lizzul was caring for the child, her ill mother, other children and managing her own serious health conditions.
Judge Sexton said many families who Lizzul had assisted and continued to care for had provided character references to the court.
"All of this makes it all the more puzzling and troubling the way you have approached this charge," she said.
Judge Sexton said the sentence imposed must deter others who are in roles caring for vulnerable people and there must be specific deterrence because of Lizzul's lack of insight and remorse.
"With your continued connection in caring for other people you must be shown you cannot do this again," she said.
"On the other hand your passage through the criminal justice system is likely to deter you in offending."
Judge Sexton convicted and sentenced Lizzul to a two-year community corrections order with a requirement she complete 300 hours of unpaid community work.
"If you do not complete a condition of this order you will be re-sentenced... and that may mean a prison sentence," she said.
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