An Ohio mother has landed herself in a great deal of trouble following a three-day trip to Miami to help a friend undergoing surgery, while her three children were left home unsupervised!
Dominique Knowles has been found guilty of two counts of child endangerment for leaving her three children home alone with no phone, reports the New York Post. The 32 year old is said to have checked on them online through her laptop and security cameras while ordering them food on Uber Eats from February 21 to February 23rd.
Sources state that Dominique left her ten year old daughter in charge to take care of her seven year oldtwin daughters who both have special needs.
“Mom wasn’t really checking in,” says prosecutor Michel Maloney. “Remote work is one thing: remote mom is another. It was worse.
Maloney says that Dominque lied to her mother who would’ve been able to take her children in. “There were adults that were available to help out.”
Dominique is said to have taken her 8 month old son with her to Florida.
Officials state that a fourth grade teacher became alarmed when Dominique’s 10 year old told her she had spoken to her mom on a camera last night and that Eats was left at their door. She then took the proper steps to have authorities conduct a welfare check.
Local officers state that when they arrived to Dominque’s home it was filthy with spilled liquid all over the floor and that one of the twin girls slipped. “Garbage, bind and bags were strewn all over the floor,” reads court documents.
Dominque initially denied leaving Ohio, however authorities were able to confirm that she was more than 1,200 miles away from home for three days.
“She lied,” Maloney said. “They showed her leaving Hopkins airport on the evening in question, timed the calls showing mom at an airport in Miami in about a two-hour time frame, which, of course, is about the flight time from Cleveland to Miami, and when mom was confronted with that, she changed her story and said something about having to be in Miami because her friend needed liposuction surgery.”
After being caught in a lie, Dominque told officials, “My kids are allowed to be here by themselves.”
“Not when you have two special needs kids,” responded an arresting officer.
“Every teacher and counselor at the school said there is no question these girls would have wandered off given the chance, and I don’t want to explain the things that could have happened then – a kidnapping, walking out behind a car,” Maloney said.
Dominque appeared in court on Wednesday October 23rd as she received her official sentencing.
“I understand what I did was wrong and this absolutely would never happen again,” said Dominque. “I did believe my kids were able to dress themselves and get themselves to school. I wouldn’t dare let anything happen to my kids. I wish I could go back and change the circumstances.”
Dominique has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to attend a parenting class and mental health counseling, given $800 in fines and 360 days of house arrest. She will only be allowed to leave for work.
“I don’t want to further victimize your daughters by separating you from them,” Burke said. “It is now time for you to become the mother that your daughters deserve, need and require.”
Check out Judge Joseph Burke’s full statement below:
This Court spent a full day in trial and heard testimony from 11 witnesses including Tianna Wilson, Defendant’s friend who was with her in Miami, Adiva Carroll, an adult friend who lived at an apartment complex next door to the Defendant’s apartment, Deborah Sullivan, Defendant’s mother and the minor children’s grandmother who lives in Cleveland and the Defendant.
Curiously, although your friend Adiva Carroll lived only 5 minutes away, she testified that she did not know that you were in Miami for 3 days. She also testified that she never talked to you on February 21, 22 or 23 and you never asked her to watch or check in on your daughters.
Moreover, Deborah Sullivan, your mother and the girls’ grandmother testified that although she lives in Cleveland 20 minutes away, she was never asked by you to watch or babysit the children and she also was unaware that you were in Miami for 3 days.
You left your three daughters, ages 7, 7 and 10 (two of which are special needs children, one of which had a full time aide accompany her in school) alone for 3 days in an apartment to fend for themselves without any adult supervision while you traveled to Miami, Florida in February. Testimony at trial revealed that your daughters had no access to a cell phone, you interacted when you chose to do so by Nest cameras in the apartment or by Facetime calls on a laptop. What is even more perplexing is that you did not even notify the girl’s grandmother who lives in Cleveland that you were leaving for Florida for 3 days or an adult friend who lived nearby. You left these three children alone to their own devices.
Your daughters were forced to fend for themselves much like feral cats, including preparing their own meals, getting dressed, getting ready for school, walk to the bus stop, go to school and return home each night without their mother or another adult to care and otherwise parent them.
As a parent to 3 daughters, I could not imagine leaving my daughters alone at the ages of 7 and 10 for any period of time, much less for 3 days to travel to Miami. I have a difficult time leaving my dogs alone for any extended period of time.
You allege that you flew to Miami at the last minute to accompany a friend who was having elective cosmetic surgery, liposuction, and you also stated that you were paid to do so. This explanation strains credulity and I suspect there is more to this story and why you chose to fly to Miami for 3 days in February. Whatever your reason for leaving your three minor children alone for 3 days it does not justify your actions. If children learn at an early age that they cannot rely on their mother for love, protection and support, what future do they have as adults? What kind of relationships will they have and what kind of parents will they become?
The one person who is supposed to love them unconditionally and protect them at all costs, was unavailable and otherwise checked out. What is clear was that for those 3 days in February, your children were not your top priority. I am concerned about what, if any, impact this incident will have on your daughters, whose mother did act in their best interests and otherwise care for and protect them. The good news is that children are resilient.
In general, mothers are driven by a strong maternal instinct to protect their offspring to ensure their survival. The emotional bond formed between a mother and her children often triggers protective instincts and this attachment often leads to a heightened awareness of potential dangers to their children. Your conduct in leaving your children alone for 3 days was not your finest hour. It is my hope that you will learn from this experience and always place your children and their best interest before your own. That is the essence of parenting. I cannot make you a better parent, (that is up to you), but I can give you the tools to ensure that this never happens again.
It is my intention that this experience will serve as a teaching moment for you. I am optimistic that with the help and assistance of this Court, family and friends, that you can put this incident behind you, learn from it and become a better mother for your children who need you. I believe that you can rise to this moment.
Your sentence is as follows:
In Case Nos 24 CRB 249 and 24 CRB 250, I am placing you on five years of basic supervision under the following terms and conditions:
- Good behavior/Defendant not to violate any laws
- Defendant not to leave the State of Ohio without permission of the Community Control Officer;
- Defendant to report to CCO as directed and obey all rules of community control;
- Defendant to complete all treatment recommendations of CCO;
- Defendant to abstain from the use of alcohol and drugs of abuse;
- Defendant is subject to random testing for alcohol and drugs of abuse, at Defendant’s costs, and is not to refuse a test if requested by a police officer, CCO or treatment provider;
- Defendant to complete alcohol/drug education program as directed by CCO within 90 days;
- If treatment is ordered, Defendant is order by the Court or Probation Department to sign a Release of Information for any treatment provider;
- Defendant too attend a parenting class as directed by CCO;
- Defendant to attend mental health counseling as directed by the CCO;
- Defendant not to drive with a valid drivers license or driving privileges and insurance;
In Case No. 24 CRB 249, Defendant is ordered to pay a $400.00 fine and costs.
In Case No, 24 CRB 250, Defendant is ordered to pay a $400.00 fines and costs.
There are certain things that I can control and others that are beyond my control. I can assure you however, that as long as you are subject to community control sanctions by this Court, you will never leave your children alone again without serious consequences. In terms of a jail sanction, I do not want to further victimize your daughters by separating you from them, because, they will suffer the unintended consequences, and I will not have that.
However, I do believe that house arrest is the appropriate sanction to ensure that you will be with your children at all times while otherwise not working. I will permit you to work but only with proof of employment and work schedules to be reviewed and approved by probation. Accordingly, I am imposing a term of 90 days of house arrest in Case No. 24 CRB 249 and a term of 90 days of house arrest in Case No. 24 CRB 250 at the Defendant’s costs, for a total period of house arrest of 180 days. This means that when you are not working, you will be with your children at all others times. The time for frivolity and intemperance is over with and it is now time for you to become the mother that your daughters deserve, need and require.
I wish you and your daughters the best.
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