A couple from Arizona are facing child neglect charges after they went out of town and left their 11-year-old son at home unattended for weeks.
According to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responding to concerns about the welfare of the boy found him alone at the family's home in Elfrida, a small town in southeast Arizona.
The boy told the deputies his mother left the state before Thanksgiving, followed by his father, who left after the November holiday.
He also said he hadn't been to school for two weeks and was eating frozen food.
When the deputies were unable to reach the boy's parents–Bobby Jo Green, 40, and Melissa Green, 34–he was turned over to child protective services.
You can watch a news report, here.
People commented on an all-too-familiar and problematic issue surrounding neglectful parents.
The sheriff’s office said the couple was arrested after they returned home on December 29.
Parents who neglect or abandon their children–which is defined by The Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 8-201 as "failing to provide clothing, food, shelter or medical care"–may be subject to criminal prosecution and it could lead to termination of parental rights.
Bobby Jo Green and Melissa Green were charged with three counts of child neglect and their bonds were set at $100,000.
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