By ROBERT WILLIAMS, STAFF REPORTER A woman who taped a boy to a chair and choked him while playing cops and robbers needs intensive psychiatric help, not jail, says her lawyer.

"What happened is she thought if she did something crazy someone would react," Saul Simmonds told court yesterday.

Niccola Reynolds pleaded guilty to forcible confinement and assault. Charges of attempted murder were dropped.

The crime would usually result in a "lengthy incarceration," but because of the woman's psychological state, the Crown and defence recommended the woman serve a three-year suspended sentence and receive counselling.

"There really is no way to deter other like-minded individuals because the underlying factor is mental health," Crown attorney Dale Schille said.

On Sept. 25, 1999, about 3 p.m. Reynolds was playing with her six-year-old daughter and her neighbour's son, Riley Klassen, in her Day Street home in Transcona.

DUCT TAPE

Reynolds tied her daughter's hands and feet with string and used duct tape to bound Klassen to a chair and gagged his mouth. She then called the mobile crisis unit and said, 'get here quick,' Schille told court.

Reynolds, 29 at the time, started choking the boy before putting a pillow over his face and shoving her fingers in his nose.

The boy was released and Reynolds used solvent to try to remove the tape marks on the chair before police arrived.

EMOTIONALLY SCARRED

"She indicated it was certainly her early intention to kill the child," Schille said. "At some point, she abandoned that intention and couldn't do it."

The boy is emotionally scarred from the incident and has started wetting his bed again, Schille said.

"For most six-year-old boys, the scariest thing is something under the bed, but for this six-year-old ... he's scared on a daily basis this woman is going to come back and harm him again," he said.

Reynolds apologized in court to the Klassen family.

"I'm sorry for everything everybody had to got through for what I did," the petite blond said. "Nothing like this will ever happen again. I can only hope he won't have long-term psychological problems."

Provincial court Judge Brian Corrin will announce his sentence next week.