There’s no way to sugarcoat a story about child neglect. While defense attorneys must protect their clients from doing any prison time, when you hear a tale like this one, it makes the job at hand much more difficult.
A mother of a 4 year-old girl in Sanford, FL, was arrested on charges of child neglect. Her daughter was found rummaging through garbage at a gas station at five in the morning. Authorities found the girl with dried food in her hair and stains all over her dress. Her mother was staying in a filthy room in a motel when this happened.
The woman was asleep when her daughter walked out of the unlocked room. The motel manager told the police that the woman had been told before that her daughter was found alone.
The Florida Department of Children and Families took custody of the young girl. On top of all of this, the woman was charged with resisting arrest when she gave the police a hard time.
While it’s unclear as to how she was exactly “resisting arrest”, her attorney must find out if she fought the arresting officers when they were trying to handcuff her, or if she was verbally hostile towards them during the process.
Child Neglect is a crime that is classified as a Third Degree Felony. If convicted she can suffer up to 5 years in jail, up to 5 years of probation, as well as up to $5,000 in fines.
The evidence against the mother may be damning, but with a little girl’s future at stake, it is essential that every possibility be explored as to why this neglect occurred.
