London police have charged the parents of a two-month-old baby found abandoned in a driveway in the city's Wortley Village area.
The baby boy was found by a neighbour around 5:40 a.m. on Tuesday sitting in a car seat along Emery Street East wearing a pyjama and a blanket, but with no protection on his face or hands.
Anthony Franze told CTV News, "Just beyond the car over here, near the sidewalk I found a baby in a car seat. [I was] in shock, unbelievable, you don't find this everyday. I could see there was frost on the baby seat, so it must have been out here for some time."
The infant was transported to hospital for a check-up where he was cleared medically.
Police then checked the home to determine whether any other children were at risk and found the infant's father, a 31-year-old St. Thomas man, who had been sleeping.
His probation order required him not to be at that address and not to have been drinking, and he was arrested for violating both those conditions and faces two charges of breach of probation.
Further investigation found the child's mother, 31-year-old Megan Sproul of London, had been arrested by police around 1:50 a.m. for driving while impaired by drug in the area of Wellington Road and Grey Street.
Police say the mother is believed to have placed the child in the driveway before leaving the house, and while the exact time could not be determined, they say she likely drove directly from the home to the location where she was arrested.
That would indicate the child was left outdoors for about four hours.
Sproul has been charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life and abandoning a child.
Both are scheduled to appear in court in April, but the investigation into the incident continues.
Mother shares emotional story
Sproul spoke with CTV News Wednesday to share her side of the story. Appearing with a black eye, cuts and bruises, she says she had to get out of her home in a hurry.
"I didn't have a cell phone to call 911...and all I cared about was getting my son out of the house."
She reportedly ran out of the house with the baby and a diaper bag, and that's when she says she blacked out.
She breaks down as she explains, "I don't know how long I was not awake for. When I came to I scrambled into the truck and left, thinking I had put my son in my truck, and I didn't."
She says when she was stopped by police she asked them to check on her son, and it wasn't until much later that afternoon that she was told he hadn't been in the truck.
"I know it's 100 per cent my fault, but I don't understand why, when the police officer realized my son wasn't in the truck and I kept saying he was, why wasn't someone sent [to my home], why didn't they say to me, 'Megan your son's not in the truck.'"
She says she is no longer involved with the child's father and whatever people may say, she truly loves her son.
"He's my son, he's a miracle child because I wasn't supposed to have children...My son is my life, I was never supposed to have children. He's a great baby. They say that babies change your life, and he definitely changed my life. All I was trying to do was protect my son."