Three young children left in car while parents gamble at amusement arcade
A Torre del Mar resident alerted police to the situation who confirmed using the establishment’s security cameras that the parents had been inside for at least 24 minutes
A local resident alerted police on Saturday afternoon after seeing three children locked in a car in Torre del Mar. The man contacted the Local Police saying he believed the minors had been in the car for at least an hour.
Local police officers were able to confirm on the town’s amusement arcade security camera that the children’s parents had spent at least 24 minutes inside the establishment on Calle Cipriano Maldonado, while leaving their three children, aged four months, one and three years old alone in a car.
The complainant allegedly told the agents that it wasn’t the first time he has seen the minors in the same situation and that he believed the parents had been inside the casino for at least an hour when he decided to contact them.
The two parents, aged 33 and 32, came out of the premises and said that "they had gone into the arcade's bathroom for a moment." However, when the agents warned them that they would check with the security cameras, they changed their story and said that the mother had entered "for a moment because she was on her period" and that he had "been playing inside for an hour."
However, the security cameras told a different story and showed that the parents had entered the establishment at 6.18 p.m and both had been inside for at least 24 minutes.
The owner of the amusement arcade told officers that the couple were "regular customers" and that "it was not the first time" they had entered the arcade leaving their children alone inside the car parked nearby. "They have done it on numerous occasions on different days," the arcade owner told officers.
While the officers were interviewing the owner of the premises, the parents went back inside, with the mother going to the bathroom and the father returning to a game of Russian Roulette, "showing a carefree attitude towards the situation," according to sources consulted.
The children were in good health and did not require medical assistance. The incident has been passed on to the National Police, who have opened an investigation to determine whether what happened last Saturday had already happened before, as witnesses reported.
The parents, who have been identified, have not been arrested and retain custody of the children for the time being.
