Mother pleads no contest in ‘abandoned’ baby case

A woman who in April reported finding an abandoned baby at Sandy Beach and later revealed that she is the baby’s mother pleaded no contest Thursday to filing a false police report.

Keala Simeona, 22, who appeared in Honolulu District Court, will be sentenced Jan. 16 on the misdemeanor charge. The maximum penalty is a jail term of one year. She was released after posting $250 bail.

Initially, Simeona told police April 28 that she found the baby girl near the water after she heard several people screaming. Simeona took the unclothed baby to the Queen’s Medical Center where it was determined that the infant was born about two or three weeks premature and weighed about 8 pounds.

After further questioning, police determined that Simeona was the mother of the infant.

She was arrested and charged April 30 for false reporting. Police had opened cases of abandonment and endangerment of a minor — both felonies.