A member of a royal family has been sentenced for child neglect after being found collapsed on a street in west London while caring for a three-year-old, a court has heard.
Mahrah Al Nahyan, 32, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family by marriage, was found lying on railings close to an unconscious man while the child in her care was playing near a busy road. The court was told she had been taking cocaine days before being found on the street.
Incident details
Police said it took her 30 minutes to regain consciousness after a member of the public alerted them to the incident. A man was also discovered sprawled out next to railings and a bin in west London. During the incident, a member of the public took a video showing the woman on the pavement sitting next to children's toys.
Rio Pahlavanpour, prosecuting, said: "Noticed the child was unattended, without shoes on the street with a scooter and members of the public intervened as he seemed to be in close proximity to moving traffic. Upon being woken she said 'this is not a slaughterhouse, why do you care so much? Why are you so worried?'"
Court proceedings
Al Nahyan admitted to one charge of child neglect at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday (October 13). The court heard she has been undergoing drug addiction treatment at the Priory centre in Woking, Surrey, since the incident occurred in June.
Stephen Vullo, defending, claimed his client had stopped using drugs since entering the Priory in July. He said she has shown "significant remorse and resolve to overcome her addiction". He said his client had not taken any drugs on the day of the offence but was very tired having taken cocaine beforehand.
Sentencing
The judge, Mr Justice Johnson, sentenced Al Nahyan to a two-year community order with a rehabilitation requirement. She was handed a £5,000 fine and ordered to pay legal costs of £1,000 after the court heard she has an allowance of £8,000 a month.
The judge said: "By leaving [the child] to play barefoot in the street while under the influence of drugs, you showed a recklessness and disregard for [the child’s] safety. On one occasion they ran towards the road while chasing a piece of paper until a member of the public contained [the child]. But for the intervention of strangers there was a serious risk they would be seriously injured or worse. They could have run away, become lost. They could have been taken or harmed by a stranger and could have become distressed seeing you and your friend unconscious in the street."
