Criminal Charges For Leaving Children Unattended
Florida law does not indicate a specific age at which children can stay home alone or for how long parents can leave children home alone before their behavior counts as neglect. Disagreements over when and for how long it is appropriate to leave children home alone are a frequent source of co-parenting disputes among divorced parents, and judges must consider the circumstances and decide whether the parents exposed the child to danger. Leaving a ten-year-old home alone for two hours with a fridge full of food and a cell phone full of relatives’ contact information is not the same as leaving the same child home alone for the same length of time with two German shepherds and a coffee table full of counterfeit oxycodone pills. Two Florida women are facing criminal charges for leaving two young family members unattended in dangerous conditions for most of a day. If you are facing criminal charges arising from failing to provide adequate supervision for children, contact a West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer.
Family Members Face Child Neglect Charges for Leaving Five-Year-Old Twins in Shed
People often tell the exhausted parents of toddlers that parenting will eventually get easier, and eventually, when you need a few minutes of peace and quiet, you will be able to leave your children home alone for the time it takes to go grocery shopping at the supermarket. Tamara Stoiber has not yet reached that point with her five-year-old twin daughters. She needed to go shopping but could not bear the thought of bringing the children with her, so she stopped at the house of her mother Sabine Thrift in Alachua County. Thrift was not pleased about a surprise visit from her daughter and granddaughters and said that she was not available to babysit. Over her mother’s objections, Stoiber left the girls with Thrift and proceeded with her errands.
At night, neighbors became concerned when they heard strange sounds coming from a shed on Thrift’s property, so they called the police. The officers who responded to the call found the girls inside the shed with no food. The shed had no electricity or running water, but there was a large knife inside.
The police arrested Thrift, as well as Stoiber, who had been gone longer than the time it took to go to the supermarket, which was where she had told her mother that she was going. Stoiber’s bond amount was $70,000, while Thrift’s was $20,000. News sources did not indicate whether either defendant posted bond, nor did they give any details about subsequent developments in the women’s cases. Both defendants are facing charges for child endangerment and false imprisonment. The courts will try the cases separately, so the outcomes for Stoiber could be different from those for Thrift.
Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today
Attorney William Wallshein has more than 41 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County. Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.
Sources:
people.com/women-arrested-twin-daughters-trapped-alone-shed-11765738
live5news.com/2025/07/02/mother-grandmother-charged-after-5-year-old-twins-found-locked-shed/
