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WARNING: This story contains disturbing details of physical and sexual abuse and self-harm. Resources and supports can be found at the bottom of this story.
A Charlottetown woman who pleaded guilty to inflicting life-ending injuries on her three-month old daughter last year has been sentenced to one year in jail, a move the judge says is needed to uphold public confidence in the justice system and condemn the woman’s actions.
Cassie Acorn, 40, hit Winter Elizabeth Acorn’s head against the floor of her apartment on March 16, 2025, when the baby wouldn’t stop crying. The infant had a fractured skull and was airlifted to Halifax, where she later died.
Acorn was originally charged with first-degree murder, but after a psychiatric evaluation determined she had a “disturbance of the mind” — namely postpartum depression — at the time of the crime, she was allowed to plead guilty to infanticide.
The judge took all of this into account and deliberated for three weeks before sharing his decision Monday afternoon.
Speaking for about 30 minutes from the bench, provincial court Judge Jeff Lantz talked through his decision to side with the Crown, who has asked for a year in jail and two years of probation.
The defence had requested Acorn have her sentence suspended or served in the community on house arrest, arguing she has already suffered greatly and will have to live with her actions for the rest of her life.
‘Real jail’ required, judge decides
Infanticide carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. During a sentencing hearing in early January, the Crown and defence both spoke about how there were very few Canadian cases with circumstances comparable to Acorn’s.
Monday, the judge spoke about how many cases involve mothers throughout time who did not want to be pregnant, gave birth in secret and then either killed or abandoned the infants to their death.
But Acorn’s case is different.
While she became pregnant as a result of a sexual assault, she wanted the child to be born and wanted to prove to others that she could be a good mother.
Lantz said he did not think a suspended sentence was appropriate. He did, however, explore the idea of a community sentence order more thoroughly in his verbal decision before ultimately concluding Acorn needed to spend some time in “real jail” to uphold the public’s confidence in the justice system.
Lantz said a house arrest arrangement “would not provide the degree of public condemnation” required for this crime, which he called “among the most serious crimes known to law.”
“I conclude that 12 months in custody is the fit and proper sentence,” he said.
The court had previously heard about Acorn’s circumstances, which her lawyer called “tragic.”
She is an abuse survivor with a cognitive disability who found herself overwhelmed and with postpartum depression as the single parent of two children.
Lantz noted Monday that Acorn’s circumstances were “sympathetic,” but not “exceptional” to the point that she could avoid incarceration.
”The sentence must be served in jail,” he said.
Lantz spoke about Acorn’s case as one of child abuse, and referenced the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent positions on needing “robust” sentences where children, who are inherently vulnerable, are the victims of crimes.
“The facts here are extremely grave,” Lantz said, noting Acorn “breached her position of trust over the child in the worst possible way.”
Acorn has already taken medical steps to ensure she will not conceive a child again and has agreed not to have any children in her care going forward, something the judge said was positive and means the risk of this happening again is low.
Acorn stared straight ahead in the courtroom while Lantz spoke, only reacting or showing any emotion when it came time for sheriffs to lead her from the courtroom.
She will also have to provide a sample of her DNA to a national database and be on probation for two years after her release from jail.
There are resources and supports available to anyone who has experienced sexual violence:
