A Texas mother was arrested in South Florida after police said her 6-year-old son was found alone at a park late Saturday, telling a bystander that he was frightened and had not eaten since breakfast.
Elena Sexton, 41, of Corpus Christi, was charged with child neglect following the incident at Town Center Park in Sunny Isles Beach. Officers were sent to the park at about 9 p.m. after a man called 911 to report a child without a parent or guardian present, according to an arrest affidavit.
The caller told police the boy approached him “and said he was alone” and “scared” because his mother had “left him.” The witness estimated that the child had been unsupervised for at least an hour.
The boy also told the witness that he “had not eaten since breakfast time,” the affidavit said. When officers asked where his mother had gone, he reportedly said she “left him to be with a friend to get food.”
Police said the child remained wary of leaving the area and told officers he did not want to go “with a stranger.”
Officers searched Town Center Park and the surrounding area but were initially unable to locate Sexton or another adult responsible for the boy. Sexton later walked back toward the park, where officers took her into custody, according to authorities.
After officers advised her of her rights, Sexton said she had returned to her vehicle to “get some toys” after taking her son to the park. While at the vehicle, she “saw a friend” who invited her to get food, according to the affidavit. Sexton allegedly told police she “partook, while leaving [her son] at the park.”
Police records cited in news reports did not establish the exact length of time the boy was alone, though the witness believed it was at least an hour.
The Sunny Isles Beach Police Department contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families following the incident. Available records did not say whether the child was placed with the agency or released to a relative.
Sexton was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm. Court records cited by local news outlets show a judge found probable cause and set bond at $2,500.
Sexton later posted bond and was released from custody, according to Law&Crime. Information about her next court appearance was not immediately available. The criminal case remains pending, and the charge is an allegation that must be proven in court.