A teen mother in Maryland has been arrested and charged after allegedly ditching her baby to meet friends at McDonald’s.
The Aberdeen Police Department posted a mugshot of the 19-year-old woman, Kira Faust, who was arrested as part of a child neglect investigation. Police responded to the home on May 18 after receiving word that a 6-month-old baby had been left alone. Indeed, the baby was not only alone but in what the department described as “unsafe and unsanitary living conditions.”
“With assistance from the Bel Air Police Department, officers located Faust, who stated she had left the child home alone while she went to meet friends at a McDonald’s in Bel Air,” the department wrote, revealing that Aberdeen Police took temporary custody of the baby.
“UM Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Aberdeen provided officers with essential baby supplies while Child Protective Services worked to secure a safe placement for the child,” the department wrote.
“Faust was charged with child neglect and was later released on her own recognizance,” it added.
Ironically, the New York Post revealed that Faust was employed as a daycare teacher at Churchville Presbyterian Preschool and Daycare in Aberdeen but had not worked there in the week leading up to her arrest.
Unfortunately, stories such as these are not rare in form. Days before the Maryland baby’s abandonment, authorities in Stafford County, Virginia, found an abandoned infant near a public park. However, the mother was eventually located and was not charged.
“In every case we investigate, the Sheriff’s Office carefully evaluates all information and evidence to determine whether charges are appropriate. This case was handled no different,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “In close partnership with the Office of the Commonwealth Attorney, we have determined that no charges will be filed related to this incident at this time.”
Various state level Safe Haven laws, such as ones in Virginia, allow a parent to surrender their unharmed child less than 30 days old to a designated location without fear of repercussion. That includes hospitals and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies such as fire stations.
