I don't think she should be charged with anything for taking her baby to the police station. she should have talked to someone there instead of just dropping the baby off though. If she doesn't feel she can be a good parent, then I think she should be supported through the process of placing the child with someone who can. Especially since she has a history of endangering the child's health in the past. They just changed the Safe Haven law in Illinois - it used to be that a baby could only be turned over to a hospital or police station up to 7 days of age, but they just expanded it to 30 days as of the first of the year.
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Mom Who Left Baby At Police Station Charged
Matisha Goens Arrested For Failing To Come To Court On Previous Endangerment Charge
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) A woman who allegedly abandoned a 6-month-old baby at a South Side police station Friday afternoon was arrested on a warrant for failing to show up for a court appearance in relation to a charge of endangering the same child last September, police said.
An arrest warrant was issued Oct. 21 for Matisha Goens, 28, of the 7000 block of South Crandon Avenue, after she failed to show up for a court appearance that day in Domestic Violence Court (Br. 60), 555 W. Harrison St., after being charged in September with endangering the health and welfare of a child, according to police.
She was charged for allegedly leaving the same child unattended in a car in a parking lot of a Secretary of State facility at 9901 S. King Dr., according to police. For that, she was released on an individual recognizance bond and told to appear at the court hearing Oct. 21, according to police.
Goens was located by police Monday after allegedly leaving the same 6-month-old infant girl in a stroller inside the Grand Crossing District police station, 7040 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Friday afternoon.
She has not been charged with anything as of Tuesday morning in Friday's incident but police were still investigating.
In Friday's incident, police said two witnesses saw a woman who appeared to be 18 to 24, dressed in a black jacket and top, dark blue skinny jeans, a black skull cap and wearing boots with white fluffy fur trim come briefly inside with the stroller. She mumbled something to the effect that she had forgotten something and that she would be "right back" but she never returned, according to police.
The baby, believed to be approximately 6 months old, was found in a black and silver "Baby Trend Expedition" stroller with a multi-colored Winnie the Pooh blanket. She was wearing a pink jacket with butterflies and a jumper with "ABC" printed on it.The girl has two teeth and pierced ears with diamond earrings.
Under Illinois' Safe Haven law, an unharmed newborn up to 30 days old may be "safely relinquished to staff at hospitals, police or staffed fire stations, or emergency care facilities, no questions asked", but there are usually repercussions for abandoning a child after that time period has lapsed.
The Calumet Area Special Victims Unit has been investigating Friday's incident.
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