Elena Sexton pleaded not guilty to a charge of child neglect, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE
Credit: Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation
NEED TO KNOW
- Elena Sexton was arrested in Florida and charged with felony child neglect after leaving her son alone in a park in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., police say
- Sexton’s 6-year-old allegedly told officers he was scared, had not eaten since breakfast, and didn’t want to leave with a stranger.
- Sexton, 41, pleaded not guilty and is demanding a jury trial
A Texas mom was arrested and charged with child neglect in Florida after allegedly leaving her 6-year-old son in a public park for an hour while she got food with a friend.
Elena Sexton of Corpus Christi, Texas, was arrested on Aug. 15 in a Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. park, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE. Sexton, 41, was charged with one count of child neglect, no great bodily harm, a felony. She was held on $2,500 bond and was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
According to the affidavit, officers approached the young boy, who allegedly told them his mother had left him, he was scared, and had not eaten since breakfast.
The boy then told authorities that Sexton “left him to be with a friend to get food” and that he “was scared and did not want to leave with a stranger.”
Credit: Google Maps
After she was arrested, Sexton allegedly told police that she was parked at a nearby shopping plaza, and was walking to her car to get toys for her son when she ran into a friend who asked her to “sit and have food.” Sexton said she joined the friend, per the affidavit.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was contacted by police, per the documents. It is unclear who currently has custody of the 6-year-old boy.
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On Monday, Aug. 17, Sexton pleaded not guilty to the felony child neglect charge, and is demanding a jury trial, according to the document obtained by PEOPLE.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office for comment.
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