A Haddington woman, Ashley McGovern, deserted a boy in a forested area and thereafter attempted to conceal her actions by asserting that the child had disappeared. Ashley McGovern drove to the countryside near her former residence in East Lothian, where she abandoned the nine-year-old.
A widespread search commenced to locate the child following the 31-year-old’s fabricated report.
He was found 24 hours later, barefoot, when a dog walker heard his cries.
The traumatised child was severely impacted by his experience, including sustaining brain impairments.
Evidence of cocaine and alcohol was present in his system, indicating prior exposure before being transported to the woods.
Ashley McGovern was subsequently charged in relation to the incident and appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.
The initial offender admitted guilt to a charge of deliberately ignoring the youngster, resulting in significant damage, lasting impairment, and a threat to his life.
Ashley McGovern was first accused of attempting to murder the youngster, with allegations that he had been repeatedly assaulted on the neck and torso with a knife.
She had been on bail but was remanded in custody pending sentencing next month.
On September 9, 2022, the boy had spent time in the company of others – including McGovern.
He was described as being in “good spirits” and was his “usual self” as he played with friends.
At around 7pm, the child got into McGovern’s car, and she drove into the countryside.
She parked her car at a lay-by next to Brock Wood near the village of Spott in East Lothian.
Prosecutor Alan Cameron KC said the sun had set for the evening, and there was no other light source in the area.
“The boy was known to be afraid of the dark,” he added.
There had been heavy rain that day, making the woods muddy.
Ashley McGovern got back into her car at around 8pm.
“She did not take the boy with her, having left him in Brock Wood,” the prosecutor said.
He was only wearing a short-sleeved polo shirt and jogging bottoms. The abandoned child also had no food or water.
Just a minute after returning to her car, McGovern texted a man asking if he had seen the boy.
He was concerned enough to begin looking for him immediately.
Ashley McGovern initially told her own father that the boy was “missing”.
She claimed to have dropped the child off near the house of a man she knew so that he could collect his bike and ride it back, but he had not returned.
Around 80 officers, the Police Scotland helicopter, mountain rescue teams, and the Coastguard were deployed in what was described as a “significant search operation”.
Ashley McGovern, in the meantime, repeated to police the claims she had made to her dad about when she had last seen the boy.
He was finally discovered around 7pm on September 10, 24 hours after getting into McGovern’s car.
A man who lived nearby heard a child in tears. He went with his dog and followed the wailing until he found the boy deep in the woods off a path.
The distressed child was still in the same clothes he had worn the previous night but had no shoes or socks on.
He was able to confirm his name but appeared “extremely confused” and struggled to stand. Two pools of blood were found nearby.
Emergency services were alerted before he was stretchered into an ambulance and taken to hospital.
The court heard he had injuries to his chest and neck as well as a suspected ankle fracture.
Further tests revealed he had suffered a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen.
Mr Cameron said his condition “deteriorated significantly”, which included seizures, sight issues and involuntary movement of the limbs.
The child now requires the use of a wheelchair.
The prosecutor said: “During his time in hospital, he underwent extensive rehabilitation with assistance from physiotherapy, speech and language therapy as well as specialist neurology medical teams.”
The boy was only discharged on January 26, 2023.
The court heard his condition has improved, but he continues to have weakness on his right-hand side, which is likely to be permanent.
Mr Cameron said medics were initially unable to determine the cause of the brain injuries.
But, after reviewing the scans, one specialist said the ingestion of cocaine could have caused them.
A urine sample taken from the boy the day after he was found was further analysed.
It was found to have traces of the class A drug and a metabolite linked to the substance. There was also evidence of alcohol.
“The tests cannot distinguish between cocaine and crack cocaine,” Mr Cameron said.
A hair sample from the boy was taken on November 1, 2022.
The prosecutor said: “This was capable of providing an indication of exposure to drugs over a period beginning in late June 2022.
“It is not possible to say with any greater precision when that exposure was nor in what quantity.
“The findings were, however, consistent with exposure on more than one occasion.
“Also present was a substance (giving) a possible indication of exposure to crack cocaine.”
The victim was not interviewed until November 2023 as it was not deemed appropriate to do so before then.
Mr Cameron said he spoke about the incident, but his account at times was “confused and contradictory” regarding how he ended up in the woods or who took him.
The prosecutor said: “He did not state that McGovern was responsible.”
Ashley McGovern had been arrested days after the boy was found, before being released.
She was eventually charged a week later, but made no comment.
Ashley McGovern, latterly of Haddington, East Lothian, also admitted to a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
The court heard she had been a “heavy” cocaine user who had owed money to a local drug dealer at the time.
Her solicitor John Scullion KC said: “She is certainly not someone who finds it easy to provide information.
“There have been issues in her life, most notably her misuse of drugs. She has taken steps to address that problem.”
The defence advocate had asked for McGovern to remain on bail pending sentencing.
However, judge Lord Young remanded her in custody, and the case was adjourned for reports until December 19 in Edinburgh.
UPDATE 28.12.24 – JUDGE MENTAL SAYS NO JAIL
Ashley McGovern, 31, drove the nine-year-old into the countryside near her then home in East Lothian before leaving the child, who had a fear of the dark.
Ashley McGovern went on to claim that the boy was missing, prompting a large-scale hunt for him involving 80 police officers, the force helicopter, and mountain rescue and coastguard personnel.
The boy was found 24 hours later with no shoes and socks on, after a dog walker heard the crying child.
The traumatised victim was found to have suffered brain injuries and spent more than four months in hospital undergoing extensive rehabilitation following his ordeal.
It was found that there were traces of cocaine and alcohol in the boy’s system, indicating that he was exposed to the substances before being abandoned in the woods.
Ashley McGovern earlier admitted wilfully ill-treating and neglecting the boy to his severe injury, permanent impairment and to the danger of his life. She previously faced an accusation of attempting to murder the child.
Ashley McGovern, latterly of Haddington, also admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
A judge told her at the High Court in Edinburgh that they were “extremely serious offences”.
ABSOLUTELY MENTAL Lord Young said: “Because of the significant harm caused to this child, a custodial sentence would be the norm.”
He said that he remanded her in custody following a previous court appearance when she pleaded guilty because he anticipated that he would be imposing a jail sentence on her.
But the judge said that he was persuaded he could deal with her by the imposition of a non-custodial sentence and made a community payback order with a supervision requirement for the maximum period of three years and a requirement that she undertake 300 hours of unpaid work.
First offender Ashley McGovern was assessed as being at a low risk of reoffending and someone who did not present a risk to the public.
Lord Young said that she had suffered from clinical depression and anxiety linked to low self-esteem for many years but had made “great strides” towards getting her life together.
He said that she had weaned herself off illicit drugs, which was greatly to her credit, and her mental health had improved significantly.
Ashley McGovern had seen the use of drugs as solving some of her problems and her drug use escalated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She was unable to explain why she left the child in the wood.
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