HOUSTON – A mother is accused of leaving her young daughters home alone for several hours while she went out to gamble and drink, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Mary Ann Deleon, 38, was charged with abandoning a child with intent to return.
The children, ages 3 and 5, were left at the home with no food and the exterior doors locked while their mother left for 10 to 12 hours, according to the DA’s Office. The girls reportedly tried to climb out of the home’s back window where a neighbor found them and called the police.
The children were released to a relative, officials said.
When the mother was questioned, she told officers she went to a game room with friends and thought the girls’ father was coming to take care of them.
Jonathon Garcia lives nearby. He says he was the first to notice one of the girls crying inside the house.
”At first, I came out at 6 a.m. when I actually seen the father leave for work, he had his work clothes on. After that, I went inside, and I came back out around nine in the morning to feed my dogs and nobody was there,” said Garcia.
“I look at the window and the little girl is crying, screaming, so I go back inside, and I tell my mother,” he added.
Garcia says his mother called the police.
Investigators did not say if the children’s father was arrested or faced charges.
Garcia says he’s surprised to see the family in this situation.
”Yeah, they seemed pretty nice. I mean, the mother did take care of her kids, kinda alright, but I just don’t know what happened,” said Garcia.
DeLeon was taken to the Harris County Jail and given a $1,000 bond.
According to court records, she has no criminal history.