An eight-year-old boy with special needs was abandoned by his mother at a hospital. He was found with a note from his mother, which stated that he was "rude" and "ungovernable."
Kathy Sherrer, 36, is now facing charges of child abuse and child abandonment after she left her son at Jordan Valley Medical Center. She said that she left her son because he kept on calling her foul names and had been exhibiting rude behavior in public such as pulling his pants down.
According to Yahoo, Sherrer is making use of the Safe Haven Law of Utah, which allows parents to literally leave their babies aged one to three days old at a hospital. They can do so anonymously and without any questions nor possible legal ramifications.
Sherrer claimed that the reason why she left her son was that she was "overwhelmed." She even gave her own notion of what the Safe Haven law is by saying, "I thought that it was okay that we could drop them off and it was a Safe Haven place." She also added that, "I wasn't sure about the Safe Haven laws or what it meant... I really did not know any other way to go about it."
After having faced a third-degree felony and a Class A misdemeanor for leaving her eight-year-old son with special needs at the hospital, Sherrer still does not consider herself as a bad mother. Daily Mail reported that her son walked up to the reception area, bringing a note from Sherrer, which says, "This kid is rude and ungovernable! I do not want him in my house at all!"
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said, "You don't get to arbitrarily drop children off at certain institutions." He further emphasized that, "You reach out to that organization, that organization helps process your child, there's an understanding."
Sounding disturbed, Gill said, "You don't simply say, 'I've had enough and I'm going to drop off this child and no one knows who I am.'" The District Attorney said that everyone understands their respective roles in the whole due process.
The eight-year-old boy is now under the care of social services. The mother, Sherrer, who abandoned him, will be looking forward to days in court for leaving her son with special needs at the hospital.
