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Hernando Today

Wandering Tot Earns Mom Child Neglect Charge

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: August 16, 2008

  Melissa Crossman

SPRING HILL - A woman was charged with child neglect Thursday after a motorist saw her 3-year-old son wandering around her front yard.

The passerby called authorities around 2:15 p.m. and the reporting deputy, William Horvath, said he found the child wearing only a diaper and playing with electrical wiring at 4364 Lamson Ave.

Horvath left the child with the concerned citizen and walked through the open front door to investigate. He and his backup deputy discovered the mother, 19-year-old Melissa Crossman, sleeping under a blanket, a report states.

Crossman was awoken and told her son was outside playing in the front yard.

Her alleged reply: "Ah, he got out the front door again."

The suspect was led outside to join her son, while the deputies made another search of the house. Horvath said he found the house in "disarray," with piles of dirty dishes and bottles of medication and toxic household cleaners within easy access of the child.

When the deputy asked the child to demonstrate how he got out of the house, the tot snapped the child safety latch, unlocked the deadbolt and unlocked the doorknob "in a matter of seconds," a report states.

Horvath consulted with the State Attorney's Office and they agreed that a child neglect charged was appropriate.

A Department of Children and Families inspector photographed the living conditions and temporarily removed both the 3-year-old and an infant from the house.

A listed phone number for M. Crossman was disconnected Friday.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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