Riverside mom charged with child endangerment and neglect after abandoning her daughter in a supermarket.
Riverside authorities reported that 31-year-old woman was taken into custody and charged with child endangerment, being under the influence of narcotics, and child neglect, after she willingly abandoned her 2-year-old daughter in a grocery store. The child has been placed in the custody of the county’s Child Protective Services pending her mother’s trial.
Detective Paul Miranda of the Riverside Police Department declared that the incident occurred on Sunday night. A security camera mounted in the Food 4 Less supermarket reveals 31-year-old Chiengkham Vilaysane entering the store. The woman was not alone but accompanied by her 2-year-old daughter.
All parents know challenging a trip to the supermarket can become, especially when the children wander off. At some point during their visit to the store, Vilaysane’s daughter left her mother’s side to explore the rest of the supermarket.
Instead of searching for her child, the woman went about her business, as if nothing odd occurred. The little girl was spotted by another grocery store customer and returned to her mother. However, upon returning the child, Visaysane’s told the supermarket customer that it would have been better just to leave the child where she was.
After her blood-chilling conversation with the supermarket customer, the Riverside mom paid for her groceries, and left the supermarket, leaving her 2-year-old child behind. Some of the other customers called the authorities. Using the surveillance footage, the law enforcement officers managed to identify the girl’s mother.
Chiengkham Vilaysane was arrested Tuesday and charged with child endangerment and neglect. Furthermore, it appears that authorities might also charge the 31-year-old Riverside mom with being under the influence of narcotics.
Detective Paul Miranda reveals that the woman was recently kicked out of the house and that she has a long history of substance abuse. In fact, according to court documents, Mrs. Vilaysane name is associated with several drug and alcohol abuse scandal. Last year, due to her addictions, the authorities were forced to place the Riverside mom on a 72-hour psychiatric hold.
However, at this point, it’s still too early to tell if the woman’s decision to abandon her child in the supermarket was the result of her being under the influence of narcotics or if it was something else.
Before placing the child in protective custody, the investigators rushed her to the nearby hospital for a routine check. The physicians declared that although the mother’s actions were deplorable, the child was well-fed and healthy.
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