NationStates Jolt Archive


What action should be taken here?

Eutrusca
05-01-2006, 14:25
COMMENTARY: Either these parents are just plain stupid, or they're so irresponsible as to be unfit parents, IMHO. What do you think, and what should be done?


Calif. Husband, Wife Leave Sons Home Alone


January 05, 2006 12:03 AM EST
MANTECA, Calif. - A married couple who got a dog sitter for their puppies but left the man's young children home alone while they vacationed in Las Vegas were arrested Wednesday, police said.

Jacob Calero, 39, and Michelle De La Vega, 32, were taken into custody as they arrived home on a flight to Oakland. They had left town Friday to celebrate the new year, authorities said.

The couple apparently told 9-year-old Joshua to look after his 5-year-brother, Jason, who is autistic. The children spent one night alone before police found them.

The grandmother, Libbey Holden, said she called police because she had suspected the couple left the children at home in San Ramon, about 35 miles east of San Francisco.

"I had big concerns," Holden said. "These kids are helpless."

Joshua said his father and stepmother got each other puppies for Christmas, which they brought to De La Vega's mother to care for before leaving town.

"I thought they loved them more than us," Joshua told The Associated Press during an interview at his maternal grandmother's apartment. The children's mother died in 2003. [ That has to be one of the saddest statements I have ever heard come out of the mouth of a child! ] :(

He added that he and his brother ate cereal for breakfast and cooked frozen dinners in the microwave.

"I didn't know who I could call in an emergency. Even if I called my father, he's far away, so there wouldn't be much he could do,"

Calero and De La Vega each were being held on suspicion of two felony counts each of child endangerment. Bail was set at $200,000.

Police found the children asleep in their beds Saturday night. A gas fireplace was on, but they found nothing out of the ordinary.

"It appears that the food and the environment were set up for them to be alone," San Ramon Police Sgt. Brian Kalinowski said.

Officers began calling Calero's cell phone Saturday, but he didn't call back until Tuesday. "We get the sense that they felt no urgency for them to return home," Kalinowski said.

Calero and De La Vega have requested lawyers and have refused to talk to police, Kalinowski said. Felony child endangerment carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison.

Calero is a plumber and De La Vega works in a dental office, police said.
Mariehamn
05-01-2006, 14:34
*speechless*

I think that they are unfit for parents, or they could have left the kids with grammy. Grandmas rule! She should get the kids.
UpwardThrust
05-01-2006, 14:37
Absolutely criminally reckless

Not only were the kids only 9 and 5 but one was AUTISTIC
For the love of god they endangered their children’s life’s wantonly and knowingly.
[NS:::]Elgesh
05-01-2006, 14:38
You get a couple of stories like this a year, I guess (at least over here). Unfit parent, but how do you relocate the kids without leaving them with the impression that it's somehow their fault the family was broken up? Logic and reason aren't going to change feelings like that very easily. Grandma seems a good bet, though.
Kanabia
05-01-2006, 14:41
Hm, well, 9 is a little young and it's especially problematic since he was expected to look after a handicapped child.

My parents stopped with babysitters once I turned about 12, though, and I got on fine. It would strongly depend on the maturity of the child, but if they were my children I would be a lot more responsible.

And now the children's parents may go to prison. And for better or worse, the children might not have anyone now. I guess they'll live with their birth-father. Or maybe be fostered out.
[NS:::]Elgesh
05-01-2006, 14:54
Hm, well, 9 is a little young and it's especially problematic since he was expected to look after a handicapped child.

My parents stopped with babysitters once I turned about 12, though, and I got on fine. It would strongly depend on the maturity of the child, but if they were my children I would be a lot more responsible.

And now the children's parents may go to prison. And for better or worse, the children might not have anyone now. I guess they'll live with their birth-father. Or maybe be fostered out.

No babysitters... for an evening/overnight... OK. But these parents went on holiday, flying out of their kids city, without making any provision for them in an emergency. I don't think your situation at 12 compares
Heron-Marked Warriors
05-01-2006, 15:01
People suck. That is all.
Carnivorous Lickers
05-01-2006, 15:11
Hm, well, 9 is a little young and it's especially problematic since he was expected to look after a handicapped child.

My parents stopped with babysitters once I turned about 12, though, and I got on fine. It would strongly depend on the maturity of the child, but if they were my children I would be a lot more responsible.

And now the children's parents may go to prison. And for better or worse, the children might not have anyone now. I guess they'll live with their birth-father. Or maybe be fostered out.

Too depressing to contemplate. I dont think putting the children's parents in prison is in the best interests of the children,though. Maybe the parents would be better with probation and they should be enthusiastic about taking part in some parenting classes and get some degree of professional supervision for a time.

For every one story like this we hear, there are probably a hundred we dont hear about. These parents showed selfish poor judgement, but I dont think prison is going to help them or the kids.
Southeastasia
05-01-2006, 15:20
Why are they that stupid as to leave a nine-year-old taking care of an autistic child when neither can fend for themselves?
Non Aligned States
05-01-2006, 15:21
I would like to determine how mature the 9 year old is and how capable/used he is to taking care of himself and his brother. Where I live, cases of children under 12 who combine both schooling and work in order to care for their siblings as well as their disabled parents are not all that rare. Being young does not automatically translate to being defenseless and unable to fend for themselves.

Does this excuse the parents? No. Not really. But it does not automatically mean that their children were at high risk either. As I have said, it would require a determination of how mature and adapted to these circumstances the two children are.
Iztatepopotla
05-01-2006, 16:12
Meh, I used to leave my cats alone for 4 or 5 days with enough food and water and they did totally fine. I expect better from children who are supposed to be smarter.
Drunk commies deleted
05-01-2006, 16:14
Exterminate the whole family. Kids and all. After all, the kids are carrying their parent's irresponsible genes.
Bottle
05-01-2006, 16:19
Have the parents sentenced to spend their jail terms (6 years, is it?) in one of those low-budget dog kennels where cruel pet owners leave their pooches when they go on vacation.