Mom sentenced for leaving kids alone for days
This Court spent a full day in trial and heard testimony from 11 witnesses including Tianna Wilson, Defendant’s friend who was with her in Miami, Adiva Carroll, an adult friend who lived at an apartment complex next door to the Defendant’s apartment, Deborah Sullivan, Defendant’s mother and the minor children’s grandmother who lives in Cleveland and the Defendant.
Curiously, although your friend Adiva Carroll lived only 5 minutes away, she testified that she did not know that you were in Miami for 3 days. She also testified that she never talked to you on February 21, 22 or 23 and you never asked her to watch or check in on your daughters.
Moreover, Deborah Sullivan, your mother and the girls’ grandmother testified that although she lives in Cleveland 20 minutes away, she was never asked by you to watch or babysit the children and she also was unaware that you were in Miami for 3 days.
You left your three daughters, ages 7, 7 and 10 (two of which are special needs children, one of which had a full time aide accompany her in school) alone for 3 days in an apartment to fend for themselves without any adult supervision while you traveled to Miami, Florida in February. Testimony at trial revealed that your daughters had no access to a cell phone, you interacted when you chose to do so by Nest cameras in the apartment or by Facetime calls on a laptop. What is even more perplexing is that you did not even notify the girl’s grandmother who lives in Cleveland that you were leaving for Florida for 3 days or an adult friend who lived nearby. You left these three children alone to their own devices.
Your daughters were forced to fend for themselves much like feral cats, including preparing their own meals, getting dressed, getting ready for school, walk to the bus stop, go to school and return home each night without their mother or another adult to care and otherwise parent them.
As a parent to 3 daughters, I could not imagine leaving my daughters alone at the ages of 7 and 10 for any period of time, much less for 3 days to travel to Miami. I have a difficult time leaving my dogs alone for any extended period of time.
You allege that you flew to Miami at the last minute to accompany a friend who was having elective cosmetic surgery, liposuction, and you also stated that you were paid to do so. This explanation strains credulity and I suspect there is more to this story and why you chose to fly to Miami for 3 days in February. Whatever your reason for leaving your three minor children alone for 3 days it does not justify your actions. If children learn at an early age that they cannot rely on their mother for love, protection and support, what future do they have as adults? What kind of relationships will they have and what kind of parents will they become?
The one person who is supposed to love them unconditionally and protect them at all costs, was unavailable and otherwise checked out. What is clear was that for those 3 days in February, your children were not your top priority. I am concerned about what, if any, impact this incident will have on your daughters, whose mother did act in their best interests and otherwise care for and protect them. The good news is that children are resilient.
In general, mothers are driven by a strong maternal instinct to protect their offspring to ensure their survival. The emotional bond formed between a mother and her children often triggers protective instincts and this attachment often leads to a heightened awareness of potential dangers to their children. Your conduct in leaving your children alone for 3 days was not your finest hour. It is my hope that you will learn from this experience and always place your children and their best interest before your own. That is the essence of parenting. I cannot make you a better parent, (that is up to you), but I can give you the tools to ensure that this never happens again.
It is my intention that this experience will serve as a teaching moment for you. I am optimistic that with the help and assistance of this Court, family and friends, that you can put this incident behind you, learn from it and become a better mother for your children who need you. I believe that you can rise to this moment.
Your sentence is as follows:
In Case Nos 24 CRB 249 and 24 CRB 250, I am placing you on five years of basic supervision under the following terms and conditions:
In Case No. 24 CRB 249, Defendant is ordered to pay a $400.00 fine and costs.
In Case No, 24 CRB 250, Defendant is ordered to pay a $400.00 fines and costs.
There are certain things that I can control and others that are beyond my control. I can assure you however, that as long as you are subject to community control sanctions by this Court, you will never leave your children alone again without serious consequences. In terms of a jail sanction, I do not want to further victimize your daughters by separating you from them, because, they will suffer the unintended consequences, and I will not have that.
However, I do believe that house arrest is the appropriate sanction to ensure that you will be with your children at all times while otherwise not working. I will permit you to work but only with proof of employment and work schedules to be reviewed and approved by probation. Accordingly, I am imposing a term of 90 days of house arrest in Case No. 24 CRB 249 and a term of 90 days of house arrest in Case No. 24 CRB 250 at the Defendant’s costs, for a total period of house arrest of 180 days. This means that when you are not working, you will be with your children at all others times. The time for frivolity and intemperance is over with and it is now time for you to become the mother that your daughters deserve, need and require.
I wish you and your daughters the best.
Judge Joseph Burke
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