A Texas woman visiting South Florida was arrested Saturday night after police said she left her 6-year-old son unattended at a public park while she went to have food with a friend.
Elena Sexton, 41, has been charged with child neglect after an incident in Sunny Isles Beach’s Town Center Park. Officers from the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department responded to the park at 9 p.m. after a passerby contacted 911 to report an unsupervised child.
According to an arrest document, the 911 caller informed responding officers that the little kid approached him “and said he was alone” and “scared” because his mother “left him.” The witness assessed that the child had been alone for at least an hour. According to the affidavit, the youngster allegedly informed the spectator that he “had not eaten since breakfast time.”
When investigators inquired about his mother’s whereabouts, the youngster replied that she “left him to be with a friend to get food.” He also stated that he felt “scared” and didn’t want to leave the park “with a stranger.”
Police investigated the park and surrounding areas but couldn’t find Sexton. Officers waited on the scene until she returned to the location where the youngster had been left.
After being arrested and having her Miranda rights read to her, Sexton told detectives that she had taken her son to the park and then strolled back to her car to “get some toys.” While in her car, she said she “saw a friend” who offered her to lunch, so she chose to attend, leaving her son in the park.
Authorities did not say how long the toddler was left unattended. Police reported the incident to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Sexton was placed into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and released on a $2,500 bond.
Leave a Reply