A woman who kidnapped her 20-month-old daughter and kept her away from the father for 18 years has pleaded guilty to abduction.

Patricia O’Byrne, 55, mistrusted men because of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child and physical abuse she witnessed her mother experience, a provincial court judge was told Friday.

It left her “hypervigilant in her need to protect her daughter from any perceived threats,” said prosecutor Michael Callaghan, reading an agreed statement of facts.

After she separated from the father, Joe Chisholm, in 1992, she became convinced his parenting style inadequately protected their daughter from harm, specifically because he left her with male babysitters.

“Ms. O’Byrne thought that the only way to keep (the daughter) safe was to disappear,” Callaghan told Justice Mara Greene.

Under a May 10, 1993, settlement, the daughter was to primarily live with O’Byrne, but Chisholm was granted access. But on May 28, O’Byrne’s lawyer got a letter saying she and her daughter were disappearing.

Over the years, Chisholm worked tirelessly to locate his girl, registering her with Child Find. Police issued a Canada-wide warrant for O’Byrne’s arrest.

On Oct. 4, 2011, police got an anonymous tip she was living in Victoria, B.C., under an assumed name. Police seized a tissue sample taken from O’Byrne during a medical procedure in 1988 and obtained a discarded sample from the B.C. woman. The DNA matched.

Victoria police arrested her on Dec. 1, 2011.

The tall, elegantly dressed woman, who is on bail, came to court with two brothers and her equally tall, striking 21-year-old daughter, who cannot be identified by court order.

Chisholm was not present, but in an eloquent victim impact statement he pleaded for mercy for O’Byrne: “I don’t want our daughter to feel responsible for anyone’s suffering — not mine and not her mother’s.”

But he also described the agony of his girl’s absence.

“From the time (she) left until shortly after her 18th birthday, I had an extra bedroom, ready for her return. As she outgrew clothes, teddy bears and age-appropriate toys, I gave them away. But I kept a place for her.”

Her half-brother, who was 4 when she was abducted, asked after her and vowed to find her when he grew up, Chisholm wrote.

Callaghan called for a sentence of 15 to 18 months in jail, followed by probation.

“The facts of this case require a denunciatory sentence, one that tells the community that abducting your child in contravention of a court order is a serious matter,” he said.

Defence lawyer Julianna Greenspan urged a conditional sentence, roughly half under house arrest but left the judge to decide the length. She noted O’Byrne has expressed genuine remorse and through counselling has better understood her actions.

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In a written statement for the judge, O’Byrne said she was never motivated by a desire to hurt the father or his family.

She returns to court for sentencing on April 2.