Hannah Secondi
By CAROLYN ESTES, Leader writer
Copyright 2016, Oologah Lake Leader
Hannah Secondi’s world was turned upside down Tuesday, July 28, but she has persevered and despite being emotionally devastated found ways to share her community’s love with people facing even greater challenges.
Now the courts have given her back her life (see below).
The Talala mother of six started her day like any other hot summer Tuesday. Her husband Shane was at home so she went to a women’s prayer meeting at her church.
After the meeting Hannah would normally go straight from there to do her weekly shopping. But on this day one of her six children, Victoria, needed a birthday gift for a party she was going to attend. Hannah drove home to pick up Victoria and they decided to take one-year-old Faith with them.
Victoria took Faith to her car seat in the van and they headed to Owasso.
“Victoria was excited about going to the party and Faith drifted off to sleep as Victoria and I chatted about what type of gift to get. We were in deep discussion about the party and gift when we arrived. We got out of the car and went into the store,” said Hannah. “We selected the items we needed for the house and shopped for the gift.”
“We finished shopping and checking out and started out the first set of doors. I noticed that there were fire trucks, police cars, and an ambulance in the parking lot.
That’s when life threw her a big curve and her world was about to be turned upside down.
“A cop comes up and asked if that was my van over there and Victoria and I looked at each other and it hit: ‘Oh my God, Faith’, we both said at the same time,” Hannah said.
“The guilt as the parent is overwhelming. How could I have forgotten that Faith was with us?” she said.
The legal case
By JOHN M. WYLIE II, Editor
A Tulsa judge has given Hannah Secondi an opportunity for her record to be wiped clean in late December 2017.
Under a plea bargain agreement, Secondi pleaded guilty Jan. 4 to a charge of child neglect in connection with an incident July 28 in which her 1-year-old baby Faith was left alone in a hot car.
But Judge William D. LaFortune withheld a finding of guilt and deferred any sentence.
Instead, he ordered her to pay fines and assessments totaling $750, court costs which as of Jan. 4 totaled $276.50, and other fees to the court at a rate of $50 a month; be on supervised probation and follow all rules and conditions it sets, and attend DHS parenting classes.
If she meets all the conditions set by the judge, her case will be expunged following a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 18, 2017.
(Several media outlets reported that she was convicted, due primarily to an error in court records which has since been corrected).
Read the rest of Hannah’s story and the legal issues in this week’s Leader, now in stores, or in our E-Leader (link on the menu bar above)