Woman who abandoned nine-year-old boy in woods avoids prison

A woman who abandoned a frightened boy in woodland before sparking a major missing person search has avoided jail.

Ashley McGovern, 31, drove the boy to Brock Wood, near Dunbar in East Lothian, on the evening of September 9, 2022.

McGovern went on to claim that the boy was missing, prompting a large-scale hunt for him involving 80 police officers, the force helicopter and mountain rescue and coastguard personnel.

The boy was found 24 hours later with no shoes and socks on after a dog walker heard the child crying.

The boy was abandoned in woods in East Lothian. Google Maps

He was found to have suffered brain injuries and spent more than four months in hospital undergoing extensive rehabilitation following his ordeal.

It was found that there were traces of cocaine and alcohol in the boy’s system, indicating that he was exposed to the substances before being abandoned in the woods.

McGovern admitted wilfully ill-treating and neglecting the boy to his severe injury, permanent impairment and to the danger of his life.

She previously faced an accusation of attempting to murder the child and also admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

A judge told her at the High Court in Edinburgh that they were “extremely serious offences”.

Lord Young said: “Because of the significant harm caused to this child, a custodial sentence would be the norm.”

He said that he remanded her in custody following a previous court appearance when she pled guilty because he anticipated that he would be imposing a jail sentence.

But the judge said he was persuaded that he could deal with her by the imposition of a non-custodial sentence and made a community payback order with a supervision requirement for the maximum period of three years and a requirement that she undertake 300 hours of unpaid work.

First offender McGovern was assessed as a low risk of reoffending and someone who did not present a risk to the public.

Lord Young said she has suffered from clinical depression and anxiety linked to low self-esteem for many years but has made “great strides” towards getting her life together.

He said she has weaned herself off illicit drugs, and her mental health has improved significantly.

McGovern felt drugs solved some of her problems, and her drug use escalated during the pandemic.

She was unable to explain why she left the child in the woods.

The court heard that the boy was in “good spirits” on September 9, 2022, before he got into McGovern’s car. She drove into the countryside before parking up in a layby next to the woods.

Advocate depute Alan Cameron KC said the sun had set at the time, and there was no other light source in the area.

He told the court: “The boy was known to be afraid of the dark.”

McGovern returned to her vehicle about an hour later, leaving the boy, who was wearing a short-sleeved polo shirt and jogging bottoms, behind with no food or water.

She texted a man asking if he had seen the child and at first told her father that the boy was “missing”.

A significant search operation was launched to try and find the child but he was only found 24 hours later when a man out walking his dog heard the youngster crying.

The distressed child was able to confirm his name but was “extremely confused” and struggled to stand. Two pools of blood were nearby.

Emergency services took him to hospital, and he was treated for chest and neck injuries and found to have a suspected ankle fracture.

Further tests found the child had suffered a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen.

Mr Cameron said the boy’s condition “deteriorated significantly” as he experienced seizures, issues with his sight and involuntary limb movements. As a result, he required the use of a wheelchair to get about.

The boy underwent extensive rehabilitation during his lengthy hospital stay before leaving in January last year but may be left with permanent weakness on his right-hand side.

A medical specialist thought that the cause of the brain injuries suffered by the child could have followed the ingestion of cocaine and tests found traces of the Class A drug along with alcohol.

A hair sample revealed that the youngster was exposed to drugs from late June 2022.

Mr Cameron said: “It is not possible to say with any greater precision when that exposure was nor in what quantity. The findings were, however, consistent with exposure on more than one occasion.”

A substance was also found, which gave a possible indication that the child was also exposed to highly addictive crack cocaine.

Defence counsel John Scullion KC said: “The accused recalls feeling a sense of panic and describes feeling that something flipped in her mind that day.”