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Mom Arrested, Left 13-Year-Old Home Alone For Week
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 8, 2011
Modified Apr 8, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 8, 2011
Modified Apr 8, 2011
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So what if you give your 13-year-old kid enough cash, credit cards and food for a week while you're in a foreign country for business because the police will still arrest you. Winnie Chaffee found out the hard way after spending a week in Taiwan—and keeping her adolescent daughter solo in their Croton-on-Hudson home without adult supervision—when she was charged with misdemeanor child endangerment. Her lawyer calls this an "unfortunate situation" for the single mom.
Last month, a friend of Chaffee's daughter found out she had been living alone for two days and told his family. The friend's family took in the girl and called the cops, who decided to let Chaffee's daughter stay with the friend. A Croton police officer told the Journal News, "When the mother returned, we interviewed her and obviously she admitted to leaving the child alone. She thought it was OK. She left her with pre-made meals, money, credit cards, whatever the child needed," adding, "If you want to leave your 13-year-old home for like an hour or two to go to dinner or shop, that's acceptable, depending on how mature the kid is. We obviously felt this was not right and made the arrest." Why are they cramping Chaffee's free-range kid parenting style!
Chaffee's lawyer Casey Rakob said she was out-of-work and went to Taiwan for a business contract, "This poor lady doesn’t deserve exposure for this," and "She did try to make sure the child was looked in on. This is not a case of a bad mother." But her neighbors told WCBS 880 that Chaffee's actions were "crazy" and "stupid."
Last year, a NJ mother was arrested after leaving her 12-year-old at home alone while she went to Washington to get married.
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child endangerment
croton on hudson
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winnie chaffee
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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