Published: October 29, 2009 09:44 am      

Woman pleads guilty to child endangerment

CLINTON — A Clinton woman will serve a jail sentence, pay a fine and undergo probation for leaving her 5-week-old grandson unattended, and for consuming alcohol while babysitting him in July.

Mary J. Fish, 45, 2104 Camanche Ave., pleaded guilty to child endangerment last week and will serve 60 days in the Clinton County Jail, with half of the sentence suspended. She will also pay a fine of $65 and undergo six months of unsupervised probation for the aggravated misdemeanor. A no-contact order is in place.

Officers from the Clinton Police Department were dispatched to Fish’s residence the night of July 26 for reports of a dispute between a mother and a daughter. Tiffany Shekelton, 19, Fish’s daughter who was living with her at the time, said Fish had locked her out of the house and had been drinking while babysitting Shekelton’s 5-week-old son.

Police contacted Fish’s son to gain access to the residence and found the baby lying alone on the couch, crying. The child was unharmed, although police found evidence that he had not been fed recently while Fish was babysitting him.

Fish, at first thought to have fled the residence, was found in the basement. According to the court affidavit, her eyes were bloodshot and watery. She told police she had consumed a beer while babysitting and had left her grandson alone while she hid in the basement for about 30 minutes.