A 3-year-old with nothing but a dirty diaper on was found wandering on Northwest 39th Avenue Tuesday after his caretaker fell asleep, Gainesville Police said.
Charles Gene Ragans, 46, was left to care for his girlfriend’s child at about 8:20 a.m. and let the child play in his backyard unsupervised, according to an arrest report. While Ragans wasn’t looking, the child walked onto the roadway, before a passerby called police.
Witnesses gave clothes to the child, who was only wearing a diaper, according to the report. The child said, “Mommy left in a blue truck” and “At Charles’s house we knock on door,” according to the report.
About an hour after the child was found, Ragans told police the child was playing when he fell asleep waiting for the babysitter. Ragans smelled like alcohol, and police found beer cans all over his house, according to the report.
Police checked Ragans’ backyard and found trash and sharp pieces of broken pots, according to the report. They found the gate could easily be opened by a child, but the back door to the house was locked.
An investigating officer speculated the child tried to get back into the house but was locked out. Police arrested Ragans on a charge of child neglect.
Authorities took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he remains as of press time in lieu of a $50,000 bond.
mkornfield@alligator.org
@merylkornfield
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