WINTER HAVEN POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA FACEBOOK
Ashley Richardson, 28, was arrested Tuesday in Winter Haven, Fla., and charged with four counts of negligent child abuse without bodily harm.
A 28-year-old mother of four was arrested this week after an officer discovered her four small children, ranging in age from 6 to 8, playing alone at a park in Winter Haven, Fla.,according to Bay News 9.
The mother, Ashley Richardson, who returned to the park about two-and-a-half hours after the officer saw the children, told police she left them to go to a food bank, the news station reports. She faces four counts of negligent child abuse without bodily harm.
About noon Tuesday, the officer discovered the children playing unsupervised at the park. She went to the aid of the 8-year-old after he became stuck in a swing designed for toddlers, the report says. After trying unsuccessfully to free him, the officer called the Winter Haven Fire Department for assistance. Fire rescue workers freed the child by removing the swing from its frame, the television news station reports.
The children, who initially were reluctant to tell the officer where they lived, eventually gave their names, ages and address. They also said they had crossed a major thoroughfare on their own. Just as the officer reportedly was calling for further help for the children, the oldest pointed to their mother, who had just driven up in an SUV.
At first glance, the case appears to be similar to that of Shanesha Taylor, a 35-year-old homeless woman who this summer left her children in a car during a job interview in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Source: The Root | LYNETTE HOLLOWAY
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