TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Leaving a child alone in a car constitutes child abuse or neglect in New Jersey.
A state appeals court on Tuesday found a mother didn’t exercise the minimum degree of care required by state law when she left her sleeping 19-month-old child in a locked car with the engine running and windows opened an inch while she shopped in a South Plainfield store in 2009.
The woman was gone five to ten minutes, but security called police after they saw the unattended child.
The court says a parent invites substantial peril when leaving a young child alone in a motor vehicle, no matter how briefly, unless there is an extenuating circumstance such as going into a store to purchase medicine.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.