In my opinion, she is completely culpable. She alone was this child's LEGAL custodial parent, and she abandoned this child (completely, for over 2 months !) to the care of someone so unstable that she allegedly feared to report the child missing for fear of what this "caretaker" might do once "things went down" ?
I do NOT care if she's young...I do not care if she came from a horrid family situation ( welcome to the rest of us)...I don't care if she was afraid for her own safety...I absolutely DO NOT CARE. She had a moral and legal obligation to protect this child and she made the choice to abandon her. There is no excuse for that, and honestly, yes , any attempts to defend this girl pisses me TF off. They just do, and I own it. (Not that you ARE defending her...I'm just venting off of your post.)
(No offense intended to anyone.)