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This article was published 7/6/2011 (3403 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 26-year-old Winnipeg woman has admitted to secretly giving birth to a baby in her bathtub — and then covering up the girl's death by disposing of her body in a plastic bag.

The woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to the rare charge of concealing a body, stemming from the December 2006 incident which is one of the first of its kind ever seen in Manitoba. She was given a six-month conditional sentence and two years of supervised probation under a joint-recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers.

The Crown agreed to drop additional charges of criminal negligence causing death and neglecting to obtain assistance in the birth of a child. They said medical officials couldn’t determine if the girl was dead or alive at the time of the birth, which is a crucial element in proving those charges.

The accused — who can’t be named under a court order imposed by provincial court Judge Lynn Stannard at the request of lawyers — claims her daughter wasn’t breathing at the time of delivery. The woman realized she was pregnant during the summer of 2006 as a result of a rape which was never reported to police, court was told.

She kept the pregnancy hidden from estranged family members and friends and never once saw a doctor, then claims she blacked out while giving birth. Upon realizing what had happened, the woman said she panicked and placed the girl in a garbage bag and kept it inside her apartment for four days.

She ultimately went to hospital and reported the incident to police — but not before removing the body, wrapping it in a blanket and spending a night cradling the dead girl in her bed, court was told.

The woman has been free on bail for the past four and a half years without re-offending. She has no prior criminal record and has been deemed an extremely low risk to re-offend.

Crown attorney Michelle Jules admits problems within her office, including disclosure of evidence and personnel issues, have dragged the matter through the courts for an unusually long period of time.

The woman broke down in tears Tuesday as she read a lengthy statement to the court about her actions.