In a path breaking judgment related to child abuse, an American mother who left her 13-month-old son in a bathtub to play games on facebook while not caring as he drowned now faces 10 years in prison. She’s playing Café World on Facebook, sharing videos and checking on her friends’ status updates.

While sentencing the northern Colorado woman, the Weld District Court judge believed the mother might not have done it purposely or that she’s a bad person, but that didn’t mean her acts weren’t criminal. Shannon Johnson, 34, cried as she listened to the judge sentence her.

“You left this little boy in a bathtub so you could entertain yourself on the computer by playing games,” the judge said. “And you left that 13-month-old human being, little Joseph, incredibly for those reasons.” Johnson pleaded guilty last month to child abuse, negligently causing Joseph’s death.

According to court documents, Johnson was playing games on Facebook in September 2010 when her son drowned in the bathtub. The full report appeared in Greeley Tribune from where I gather that the court did not trust this careless mother’s wisdom that her son had grown independent and wanted to be left alone in the tub.