A single mom of 5 from Georgia faces jail time for leaving her 4-year-old with her 14-year-old so she could go to work.
Melissa Henderson had to go to work and her youngest son Thaddeus was in day care – but his day care was closed due to COVID-19 related issues. As a last resort, Henderson asked her almost 15-year-old daughter to babysit so she could go to work.
The 14-year-old was doing school work when the 4-year-old somehow managed to slip out of the house. He was outside the house playing for 15 minutes before Henderson’s daughter brought him back inside.
What she did not realize at the time, was that during those 15 minutes a neighbor had noticed the young boy outside alone and called 911.
Two weeks later, police visited the family home. Henderson was handcuffed and arrested for criminal reckless conduct.
She later told Inside Edition:
“It was the most embarrassing and humiliating day, honestly, of my life,”
The police incident report notes some of the potential risks that could have happened in his time alone, including being “kidnapped, run over or bitten by a venomous snake.”
Watch news report below:
If convicted, Henderson will face one year in jail an $1000 in fines.
