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Mothers Jailed

January 2, 2010 permalink

Two unnamed Australian sisters, both mothers of pre-school children, are staying in jail to keep their children out of the hands of welfare authorities. Bail was refused because of their "extremely serious offence".

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Jailed mothers refuse to help find their children

GEESCHE JACOBSEN CRIME EDITOR, January 2, 2010

POLICE are concerned about the welfare of two children allegedly kidnapped by their mothers from their foster carer more than two months ago.

A three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl are believed to be moving around NSW and Queensland and their mothers, who are refusing to help police find them, have been ordered to stay in prison.

The children were removed from the women, believed to be sisters, in August 2008 after police were called to their home in Waterloo after an alleged drug-related assault. The older woman, 25, is believed to be an actress who has starred in an Australian feature film.

In documents tendered to Parramatta Bail Court yesterday police said that when they arrived at the women's home they found a blood trail leading to the front door, and found drugs, a knife and a bullet shell in the flat.

The children were removed into the care of welfare authorities within days and placed with a foster carer.

A Family Court order allowed the mothers supervised access but police said that in October one of them told the foster carer to let the children go to a children's birthday party.

When the children had not returned by 9pm, their carer raised the alarm. Police later found the mothers had taken the children by plane from Sydney to Port Macquarie that evening. Police and the Department of Community Services checked various addresses but have so far failed to find the children.

The girl's mother, 21, was found by police on New Year's Eve after allegedly taking amphethamines, and was charged with kidnapping. Police allege the woman admitted knowledge of the children's whereabouts when she told officers not to worry about them because they ''were well and being looked after''.

She swore repeatedly yesterday when Registrar Ross Lawton refused her bail, saying it was an ''extremely serious offence'' and there was a risk she would not return to court if granted bail. The other woman was charged last month with kidnapping her son.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

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