Mom of newborn found in shoebox charged

A mother faces charges of abandoning child and parent not providing necessaries of life – endangering life after a newborn girl was found at St. Monica’s Catholic Church in midtown Toronto on Dec. 21.

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Toronto Police said no other information would be released about the mother to protect the identity of the child.

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Police said they responded to a call for a found child in the Yonge St. and Broadway Ave. area around 10:40 a.m.

Churchgoers reportedly heard the sound of a baby crying ahead of the 11 a.m. mass and discovered the baby girl in a shoebox on a shelf outside the parish’s second-floor bathroom.

The baby’s mother was also located.

Emergency services arrived and took the baby to the Hospital for Sick Children where she was asssessed in good health.

In a strange yet reassuring coincidence, the parish’s namesake, Saint Monica, just happens to be the patron saint of mothers.

Babies can be dropped at hospital without charges

In Toronto, parents can drop babies off at a hospital without being charged — provided a police investigation clears them of any criminal wrongdoing.

It is a criminal offence to abandon a child under the age of 10 in a way that could endanger their life or health, and punishable by up to five years in prison.

For parents in crisis, it is suggested that a baby be dropped off at a hospital or to contact the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, which provides 24/7 support.

The investigation is ongoing, and the baby remains reported as healthy and safe.