The woman who told a friend that her two-year-old son needed to be taken to hospital is now accused of giving him a noxious substance to send him there.

Christine Allen, 32, is charged with two counts apiece of aggravated assault and administering a noxious substance.

Waterloo Regional Police say their investigation began in March, after the two-year-old was taken to a Kitchener hospital three times in the span of five days.

His mother says Allen, who was staying in her home as she tried to get her life back on track, was left in charge of the boy for about 45 minutes, after which he appeared drowsy and lethargic, with a weak pulse and low heart rate.

He was admitted to hospital, where he stayed before being released two days later.

He returned the next day, displaying similar symptoms, and again the day after that.

In that last stint, Leblanc says, her son was in hospital for about a week.

“They basically said there was no medical reason why my son’s heart rate was that low,” she says.

Family and Children’s Services was called in to investigate after the third hospitalization.

Police became involved as well, and they discovered that Allen had taken another child to hospital with similar symptoms three years earlier – while she was running an unlicensed daycare out of what was then her home on Millwood Crescent in south Kitchener.

Suspecting Allen of giving an eye care product to both children orally, police tracked her down and placed her under arrest, then shared the results of their investigation with the mother.

“I’m angry, I’m hurt, I’m frustrated,” she says.

“I’m trying to raise my children, trying to help a friend out and unfortunately, by the looks of it, you can’t trust anyone these days. Never once did it occur to me that a friend of mine would do this to my children.”

Since being released from hospital the third time, the two-year-old has recovered and has had nothing more severe than a common cold, his mother says.

Police say other children may have been victimized during the period between 2009 and 2011, when Allen operated a home daycare.

Allen is in custody pending a Wednesday court appearance in Kitchener.

Police say she may also use the name Christine Keilbar.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-653-7700 ext. 4437 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.