DETROIT (WWJ) – A Detroit woman accused of failing to tell firefighters there was a young child inside her burning home has pleaded no contest to second-degree child abuse.
Chantal Alexander had legal custody of her cousin’s 2-year-old daughter in April 2020 when a fire broke out at her Detroit home, according to Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller.
Miller alleges Alexander escaped from the burning house and when firefighters arrived, she told them about dogs inside the home – reportedly 20 of them, according to a 2021 story from WDIV – but not the toddler.
A firefighter was going through the house when he saw movement inside a crib through black smoke, according to WDIV. The prosecutor’s office says the firefighter grabbed the child and ran out of the house.
The child suffered from smoke inhalation and recovered, according to Miller.
In the wake of the incident Alexander was removed as the guardian of the child, according to the prosecutor’s office.
On Tuesday she entered a plea of no contest to second-degree child abuse and received a sentence agreement of three years probation, alcohol treatment, no contact with the victim and compliance with any orders from Family Court and Child Protective Services. Her guidelines were consistent with a probationary sentence.
She will be sentenced on Feb. 13.
During a court hearing in October 2021 firefighters who were on-scene testified Alexander was focused on getting the dogs out of the home but never mentioned the child until the firefighter ran out of the home with her, according to WDIV.
A judge denied the defense attorney’s argument that there was no proof Alexander knew the baby was inside the home when she escaped, according to WDIV.
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