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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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Woman who pleaded no contest to leaving baby outside LA hospital
given probation
Monday June 16, 2003
LOS ANGELES (AP) A woman who pleaded no contest to leaving her
newborn son in the parking lot of a hospital last year was
sentenced Monday to five years probation.
Rosemary Gutierrez, 28, was given credit for 21 days served in
county jail and also was ordered to undergo psychological
counseling, prosecutors said.
In March, Gutierrez pleaded no contest to felony child
endangerment. Prosecutors had asked that she be sentenced to
additional time in jail, but the judge rejected that request. She
had faced up to three years in state prison.
Authorities said Gutierrez placed her newborn son in a shopping
bag and left the bag in the parking lot of West Hills Hospital and
Medical Center in the San Fernando Valley in February 2002. The
baby was found by a nurse about 12 hours later.
Police said a receipt to a gift certificate that was left in the
bag led them to Gutierrez, whose home is about a mile from the
hospital.
Gutierrez, who also has a 6-year-old child, had left the baby
after giving birth at her mother's house. Both of her children have
been returned to her after the baby boy was initially placed in the
custody of the county Department of Children and Family Services.
``The kids are doing great ... She's a completely different
person now,'' said Gutierrez's lawyer Kevin Avery, who noted his
client has completed parenting classes.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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