Mum of five facing jail for leaving 14-year-old daughter to babysit her siblings

dailystar.co.uk:

family while she went to work.Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Melissa Henderson’s usual childcare arrangements weren’t available and so she asked her daughter, Linley, to babysit the four younger siblings.However, keeping an eye on four kids and doing school work isn’t easy and, while Linley was distracted, her four-year-old brother Thaddeus spotted one of his mates playing outside and went out to join him.By the time Linley realised what had happened, some 10 or 15 minutes later, Thaddeus was in his mate’s house.By which time, the other little boy’s mother had found out what had happened and called the police.Now Melissa, a single mother of five who lives in Blairsville, Georgia, is facing criminal reckless conduct charges for letting her teenage daughter babysit the four youngsters.The charges carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of $1,000 (£740).Deputy Sheriff Marc Pilote, who was sent to arrest Melissa two weeks after the incident, wrote in his report that little Thaddeus could have been in real danger of being run over, kidnapped, or "bitten by a venomous snake”.Five police cars were sent to her house, Melissa told Reason magazine."I almost don't have words for how low it made me feel," she said. "To truly feel in the bottom of my heart that, if I'm anything, it's a good mother and everything you do is for your kids.