Dad charged after leaving 4 children home alone, went to bar
PHOENIX, AZ — A Phoenix father has been indicted child abuse charges for leaving his four young children home alone for nearly 10 hours.
In a news release on Tuesday, the Maricopa County Attorneys Office said a Grand Jury had indicted Carlton Anderson on four counts of child abuse, class four felonies.
The 28-year-old told police he went to pick up his wife at a bar on the night of June 11th.
She told him she wouldn’t leave, so he allegedly started drinking with a friend.
Two of his children, ages 1 and 3, were found wandering along a Phoenix freeway frontage road the next morning.
A good samaritan found the boys on the Interstate 17 frontage road near Glendale Avenue at about 5:45 a.m.
One had walked onto the access road and the other was following behind.
The driver called police and stayed with the boys.
When officers took them back to the nearby Las Ventanas apartment complex, they found two more siblings, ages 3 and 4, inside an apartment.
Police said the apartment was strewn with trash and there was evidence the children had been looking for food among the debris.
No edible food was found inside the apartment.
Video See the web-only report as the children are taken into CPS custody
The children in diapers were also extremely dirty, according to a police spokesman.
Officers bought breakfast for the boys and they devoured it, police said.
Anderson was taken into custody by officers when he showed back up to the apartment.
While being questioned, Anderson admitted to police that his 3-year-old twin boys had previously gotten out of the apartment a couple months ago.
A neighbor who recognized the boys brought them back home.
Police found the mother on June 13th and interviewed her.
Based on the information provided by her and others, she will not face charges.
The father took full responsibility for his actions.
He claimed the mother did not know he was going to leave the children unattended.
Anderson told police he felt bad about leaving the kids alone and felt stupid about doing it.
The children still remain with CPS and they will determine where the children will be placed.
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