WALDORF, Md. - A 26-year-old Waldorf woman was arrested on Dec. 30, 2006 for leaving her three children unattended in a vehicle while she shopped at the Waldorf Wal-Mart. According to the Charles County Sheriff’s Department, on Dec. 30 at 2:30 p.m., officers responded to Wal-Mart located at 11930 Acton Lane in Waldorf for a report of children left unattended in a Mercedes parked in the parking lot.
An officer located three children in the car--a 9-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy, and an infant girl. A second officer located the driver of the car, a 26-year-old Waldorf woman, inside the store. The driver was identified as the mother of all three children.
The woman was charged via a criminal citation with two counts of unattended child for leaving her 6-year-old son and her infant daughter alone in the vehicle. The charge did not pertain to the 9-year-old girl because the law allows children older than 8 years to be left alone. However, a child must be 13 years old to supervise other children.
Police say that the mother’s name will not be released to protect the identities of the children.
Officer J. Timko investigated.