Ruminations

Blog dedicated primarily to randomly selected news items; comments reflecting personal perceptions

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Another Cherished Child

Once again we learn of a parent completely abrogating the most fundamental responsibility of a parent to a child, by leaving a toddler strapped into the family vehicle in freezing weather for six hours while the father, who had custody of the little boy, amused himself gambling inside a casino. The child's distressed wailing was heard by another casino customer while in the parking lot, who alerted authorities within the casino.

The little boy is 21-months-old. The first responders to the emergency in the parking lot outside the Silver Dollar casino was a fire crew arriving from a station that happened to be located down the road from the casino. When they arrived they found six casino customers along with a few security guards standing next to the car, where the baby could be heard crying, inside. The windows of the car had been draped in blankets so no one could detect the presence of a child.

When the firefighters pried open the front passenger door, one climbed into the vehicle, unbelted the child from his car seat, and carried him into the warmth of the fire engine. Isn't it every little boy's dream to sit inside a fire engine? And just to make certain the child would appreciate this dream come true, he was also handed a stuffed bear. The crying stopped and laughing began.

The 50-year-old father of the infant boy had parked his car in the lot at six in the evening. He returned to his vehicle six hours later, right around the time when the police and emergency measures services came on the scene. Just in time to be arrested. The surveillance cameras posted in the lot and patrolling staff were unable to detect a child left unattended, thanks to the window-covering precautions the father had taken.

Child abandonment is a crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. This is the sixth such incident where parents have been charged under similar circumstances, with child abandonment. Isn't it every child's right to be cherished and protected, its well-being uppermost in any parent's mind?

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