A Vineland woman was arrested Saturday morning after allegedly locking her two-year-old and six-year-old children in a bedroom and going out that evening, according to the Courier Post.
Police were called to the home of 36-year-old Elia M. Aguilar. 29-year-old Armando Gonzalez, the father of the kids, told police that they were locked in an upstairs room.
Gonzalez says that someone who lived in the home called him, claiming that Aguilar had left around 10 p.m.
When he arrived he says he heard his son crying upstairs.
Gonzalez claims that he and Aguilar had separated a month ago after being together for seven years.
While he no longer lives with his kids, he maintains visiting rights, though the Post also reports that there is no court order spelling out child custody arrangements.
A police officer was able to get into the room by using an unlocked window. When he got inside, he found the two kids asleep in bed and unharmed.
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Gonzalez stayed with his children while the police contacted the state Division of Youth and Family Services to figure out where the kids would eventually stay.
The police were then alerted at 2 a.m. after Aguilar returned home. They went back to the house and arrested her.
Aguilar reportedly told police that while she left her kids in the bedroom, she did not realize the door was locked and she only planned to stay out for a short while.
Aguilar admitted that it wasn’t the first time she left her kids while she went out and that she didn’t think she did anything wrong, according to investigators.
Aguilar was taken to the Cumberland County Jail where she was held on $50,000 bail.
