Community Chat

[sunala]

In today's New York Newsday:

"A Central Islip couple was arrested after police said they left their children, between the ages of 4 and 15, home alone with scant food and no heat while they stayed in a nearby hotel.

The parents were arrested Wednesday and charged with four misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child and were scheduled for arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Central Islip.

The children were left without enough food to sustain themselves from Feb. 7 through Feb. 12 while their parents were gone, said Suffolk Police Lt. Patrick Reilly of the Third Precinct Crime Section.

The children used a small space heater and a gas oven to keep them warm, Reilly said.

It's not illegal in New York to leave children home alone, according to the state's Office of Children and Family Services. But the conditions in the house and the length of time the children were left without adult supervision combined to create a dangerous situation, Reilly said.

"There was not enough food there," Reilly said, adding that some of the food left in the house rotted. "The conditions they were left in -- the lack of food, the lack of heat, the length of time they were left alone [are] all factors . . . these kids were not adequately cared for."

Reilly said one of the children was missing school during that time to take care of the other children. A relative called the Central Islip Union Free School District, which three of the children attend, after discovering the children were not supervised, Reilly said.

School district officials then called police, police said, adding that social service representatives were notified.

The children were not injured and they were released to the custody of an unidentified family member, police said."

This makes me sick to my stomach. What kind of parents can do this to their little children? The article states that it's not illegal to leave children alone. Really? I never knew that. I wonder what will happen to these poor children?

I wish there were something people like us could do to help, but what? Lots of prayers, I guess, because I personally can't think of anything else.

Bless all the children and keep them safe and warm.

Sunny

[raven-blackbird]

I wouldn't classify them as parents...............................raven

[dooBdoo]

This makes me ill. And angry. I didn't know it wasn't against the law to leave children alone for an extended period... that alone sounds like neglect to me.

"Bless all the children and keep them safe and warm." Amen, Sunny.

[jeanlake]

They aren't really parents. What ARE they? I hope decent relative step up and help the children.

[betteb]

Makes me want the so called parents heads on a stick!

Those poor babies

[scotttie]

No words to describe how low that is.

I think because the one kid was 15 it wasn't illegal but not for that length of time and those conditions.

I've heard of cases where the kids were all really small and got left like that. Cats treat their offspring better.

[Lotus]

I saw that on the new sunny......I don't believe a word those parents are saying.

They left those kids alone.....no ifs/ands/or buts.

I wouldn't even call them animals.....most animals treat their young better than that.

[Chalcedony]

I also wouldn't classify them as parents. I instead classify them as selfish jacka**es.

[AnikaBrodie]

Some people don't deserve to be parents and this is a case in point. Prayers for the children left behind.

[sunala]

On 2/13/2014 dooBdoo said:

This makes me ill. And angry. I didn't know it wasn't against the law to leave children alone for an extended period... that alone sounds like neglect to me.

"Bless all the children and keep them safe and warm." Amen, Sunny.

Amen, dear dooBdoo xox see you tomorrow. Have sweet and happy dreams.

Sunny