REDWOOD CITY — A 21-year-old Fresno woman whose 10-month-old baby prosecutors say nearly drowned after being left unsupervised in a hotel bathtub while she had sex in another room has pleaded no contest to felony child endangerment.
Mindy Trinh, whose trial was scheduled to begin this week, entered her plea in San Mateo County Superior Court on Monday. She could get up to one year in jail when she is sentenced in May.
Prosecutors say Trinh and 29-year-old Charlie Her, also of Fresno, were staying at the Comfort Suites in South San Francisco on Sept. 3, when Trinh placed her 10-month-old and 3-year-old in a bathtub and left them unsupervised while she and Her had sex.
At one point, the 3-year-old called out to Trinh and the 10-month-old was found unconscious in the water. Paramedics were contacted and they managed to resuscitate the child.
Trinh and Her lied to police about the sequence of events and how long the children were left unsupervised, according to prosecutors.
“People like that, you have to question their ability to be a parent,” said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Trinh’s court-appointed attorney, Lisa Maguire, acknowledged that her client made a mistake.
“But it was out of character,” Maguire said. “All other indications are that she is a good, attentive, caring, loving mother.”
Maguire said she plans to ask the court to reduce the felony to a misdemeanor when Trinh returns to court for sentencing on May 25. The request will be bolstered by reports that show the 10-month old is “progressing normally” and “is a strong, smart, healthy child,” she said.
Trinh, meanwhile, is out of custody on $125,000 bond.
Her, for his part, pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor resisting arrest and was placed on one year of court probation in December, according to prosecutors.
