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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - A mom faces a charge of child neglect after she allowed her son to go to a nearby park alone.
She says he's old enough but Port St. Lucie Police disagree. Now she's fighting back.
"I'm totally dumbfounded by this whole situation," says Nicole Gainey.
It began last Saturday afternoon when Gainey gave her son Dominic permission to walk from their house to Sportsman's Park.
"Honestly didn't think I was doing anything wrong," says Gainey, "I was letting him go play.
It's a half mile from their Port St. Lucie home. Dominic says it only takes him about 10 to 15 minutes to get there. During the walk, the 7-year-old passed a public pool. Someone there asked him where his mom was.
"They asked me a couple questions and I got scared so I ran off to the park and they called the cops," says Dominic Guerrisi.
Dominic was playing at the park when an officer pulled up.
"They said where does your mom live," says Dominic.
Police took him home. That's when his mom was arrested and charged with child neglect. Gainey says she was shocked.
"My own bondsman said my parents would have been in jail every day," says Gainey who paid nearly $4,000 to bond out.
The officer wrote in the report that Dominic was unsupervised at the park and that "numerous sex offenders reside in the vicinity".
"He just basically kept going over that there's pedophiles and this and that and basically the park wasn't safe and he shouldn't be there alone," says Gainey.
She believes Dominic is mature enough to go to the park alone during the day. Gainey adds her son always has a cell phone which she calls to check on him.
"That I'm here and safe," says Dominic.
Gainey plans to fight the felony charge. But after this she won't let Dominic go to the park alone. She's afraid she'll be arrested again.
The St. Lucie County State's Attorney's office says there is no law that specifies how old a child has to be before he or she can go somewhere unsupervised. It's done on a case-by-case basis.
She says he's old enough but Port St. Lucie Police disagree. Now she's fighting back.
"I'm totally dumbfounded by this whole situation," says Nicole Gainey.
It began last Saturday afternoon when Gainey gave her son Dominic permission to walk from their house to Sportsman's Park.
"Honestly didn't think I was doing anything wrong," says Gainey, "I was letting him go play.
It's a half mile from their Port St. Lucie home. Dominic says it only takes him about 10 to 15 minutes to get there. During the walk, the 7-year-old passed a public pool. Someone there asked him where his mom was.
"They asked me a couple questions and I got scared so I ran off to the park and they called the cops," says Dominic Guerrisi.
Dominic was playing at the park when an officer pulled up.
"They said where does your mom live," says Dominic.
Police took him home. That's when his mom was arrested and charged with child neglect. Gainey says she was shocked.
"My own bondsman said my parents would have been in jail every day," says Gainey who paid nearly $4,000 to bond out.
The officer wrote in the report that Dominic was unsupervised at the park and that "numerous sex offenders reside in the vicinity".
"He just basically kept going over that there's pedophiles and this and that and basically the park wasn't safe and he shouldn't be there alone," says Gainey.
She believes Dominic is mature enough to go to the park alone during the day. Gainey adds her son always has a cell phone which she calls to check on him.
"That I'm here and safe," says Dominic.
Gainey plans to fight the felony charge. But after this she won't let Dominic go to the park alone. She's afraid she'll be arrested again.
The St. Lucie County State's Attorney's office says there is no law that specifies how old a child has to be before he or she can go somewhere unsupervised. It's done on a case-by-case basis.
Cops can arrest anyone anytime for anything they think up.
That's ridiculous.
When I was little, we lived near a park in Baltimore City and I would go there a lot with my older sisters, who are only older than me by 2 and 3 yrs. It never occurred to my parents that we were in any kind of danger and I'm talking about when I was about 6 or 7! I can't believe she's being charged with a felony!
My neighborhood is at the outter edge of the NJ Pinelands. NO big chain restaurants here. About 7 years ago a local chain restaurant/bar was built. 40 seat bar...15 high tops tables ...a barrier wall and 30 tables behind it. 24 TV's and is advertised as a sports bar.
In the last 3 years they actually have a night where a guy comes in and blows up balloons for the kids.
I'm sorry but it's a bar!! I go out to have a beer and get loose not dodge screaming children running around knocking me down. The kids run loose not only in the bar but when they have special events the parking lot looks like a skateboard park. Meanwhile, out of the bar stumbles some drunk....gets knocked over by a kid running in the door,,,,,gets into his car (And yes he should not have been allowed to drive) and nearly hits a kid in the parking lot. It's going to happen its just a matter of when. AND ... Parents drinking then driving home with the kids?
Then on at least 2 Saturday nights the local HS's football team cheerleaders where allowed to stay til after 11 PM while they did patty-cakes at the table right next to the bar. Young girls....skimpy outfits...liquor...plenty of woods around? Come on now.
I dont deny this restaurant for allowing kids but......When they actually PROMOTE Girl Scouts selling cookies outside ...to me anyway...it draws a line.
There are plenty of other restaurants around that are not allowed to serve liquor. Why are these parents bringing their children to a bar????
I get a ton of resistance when I bring this up to the bar manager and local FB pages.
Parents dont see this as wrong.
Yet in FLA. The police do??
Maybe it's my age and maybe it is just me but....I find that we, as parents, are NOT protecting our children as much as we think we are and the Politically Correct are OVER PROTECTING our kids.
The way I might have handled this as a policeman might have been to just watch over the child while they walked to the park. Or even brought the child home after calling the parent and making them aware of my concern.
For Fla to charge this poor woman with a felony and looking at what goes on around here.....Im confused as hell, as to what parents expect.
They never back out of accusations. They are trained to 'know how the criminal thinks'. It's a big part of their manual. Backing out of an accusation is deadly for them. It's their Krytonite.It shows the police force as weak. Fear is their biggest asset. And there's nothing worse than being afraid of crazy people. PD and FEDs are mentally unbalanced.