Mom Arrested After Leaving Child Home Alone For a Week

Sarah Haines

Come to think of it, this is probably how all of those "Home Alone" movies would have really ended. A New Jersey mother was arrested and charged with second-degree child endangerment after leaving her 12-year-old daughter by herself for a week so she could fly to Washington to get married. Sarah Haines, 31, left her daughter in their Mount Olive home with three dogs and $10 to last her all week, and court papers say her daughter was "afraid to shower because she was scared since the front door unlocks itself." Perhaps the mom was just trying out this whole free range kid trend?

Haines, a single parent with full custody of her child, apparently told her daughter a friend would be checking on her while she was gone. She left on June 3rd and was supposed to return by the 6th, but her flights were allegedly canceled and she had not returned by the 8th. A concerned neighbor finally called the state Division of Youth and Family Services, who asked the police to conduct a welfare check on the girl. According to the affidavit, the apartment was messy and "permeated by the odor of animal urine." The daughter is currently in state protective custody.

One neighbor told WCBS, "No parent should leave a child alone at that age to do just whatever." Or to get married without her daughter's presence. Sarah's father said he was "shocked by this whole thing," but hopes that the incident will reunite him with his estranged daughter and granddaughter. Sarah Haines is being held on $100,000 bail, and should she be able to post it she will have no contact with her daughter until DYFS sees it fit.

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By Jaya Saxena in News on June 12, 2010 11:10 AM

Comments [rss]

comicstrip

Does anyone know if this Sarah Haines is Sara Hilary Haines (born September 18, 1977 in Des Moines, Iowa), a coorespondent on the Today Show?

comicstrip

Nope! note; the first name is a different spelling

Shamhammer

i choose to pull out

2 will do

i would let them camp alone at sixteen

but round the world sailboat trip solo those parents should be locked up.

Potty Boy

She looks kinda hot there...

brooklynmouthoff

"Haines, a single parent with full custody of her child,"

...not for long.

WorksInDUMBO

I wonder what her new husband thinks.

And when I was 12 years old, I used to PRAY that my parents would leave me home alone for a week!

angry_pickle

I think the true endangerment is that the mother did not bother to fix the front door!

gawkthis

sentence this woman to 6 months to a year in Caldwell so the women there can teach this selfish bitch the real meaning of "family responsibility".

r1b2

Aww, c'mon, she could have left a big bowl of kibble and the toilet seat up in case the kid got thirsty and it would've been all good.

Ritchie

oh lord -- she'll be on Oprah soon

hugomania

she's a mother awright (you know what i mean)

eitan

she can include the mug shot in her wedding album

Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Hm, Sarah Haines abandons her 12-year-old for a week, leaving her with $10.

Leonore Skenazy, author of Free Range Kids, suggests it's not horrible to let her 9-year-old take the subway in midtown by himself in the middle of the day. And that under certain circumstances it might be okay to let kids play by themselves in a park without monitoring them on a minute- by-minute basis.

Obviously these two things are exactly the same. Giving a kid an ounce of autonomy is just like child abandonment. Thanks, Gothamist, for straightening us out!

henryhamilton

The bail seems excessive in this case. The prosecutor is grandstanding, knowing full well that emotions will run amuck. Terrible parenting, but 100 grand is ridiculous, and they have no business keeping her from the child.

ribaldry

KEEP BREEDING BITCHES

Petey

Does the new husband even know he's a daddy now?

Rocknrope

31 with a 12 year old - that's the first clue.

Selfish wench should lose custody, but I'm gathering the dad is no better a parent.

doza

Oh c'mon! The only mistake this woman did - is that she have not raised her child in a way that she can take care of herself. The girl is 12 years old, for got sake! What would she need $100 for if the fridge is full and water is running?

It's wrong not to check on your kid and the friend who should be visiting her. It is wrong not to show on time, it is wrong not to want your kid at your wedding, but 12 year old person should be able to survive alone for 7 days even with 3 dogs and $10, given that all the utilities and supplies are provided!