Mother arrested for sending sons to beg
A woman was hauled before the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court for reportedly sending her children on the streets to beg under the guise that they were seeking money for a school project.
The accused mother, Alecia Baker, is alleged to have photo-copied a fund-raising sheet that she received from her children’s school and gave them to her two sons, ages 8 and 9, to solicit money in Papine and Half-Way-Tree in St Andrew.
However, the 36-year-old higgler of Cedar Valley Road in St Andrew denied the allegations and on Friday when she appeared in court pleaded not guilty to six counts of causing a child to beg and failure to secure education of a child.
Her bail was extended for her to return to court for trial on August 19.
According to allegations, in April Baker went to a parent teachers’ association meeting at her son’s school and was given the fund-raising sheet to seek donations for the school.
It is alleged that the accused woman then made copies of the sheet, gave them to her children to beg and kept the proceeds for herself.
Baker reportedly continued to make copies of the sheet and over a period of time gave them to her two children, which kept them out of school.
On May 17 her elder son was seen on the road in Papine begging and was taken to the police station by a concerned citizen.
Following investigations Baker was arrested and charged.
Tanesha Mundle