Babysitter Charged After Toddler Found Drunk

[Woodman]

Patchogue, New York - A 37-year-old man has been charged with two counts of endangering a child's welfare after one of two toddlers he was baby-sitting was found drunk, officials said.

Juan Reyes was arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Central Islip and ordered held on $5 000 (about R31 000) bail. He was scheduled to return to court on January 3.

Reyes was arrested Tuesday by two sheriff's deputies who had gone to get information on a family court order of protection, the Suffolk County Sheriff's office said in a news release.

The deputies saw through a window that Reyes was unconscious and two small children were wandering around, the news release said. They managed to rouse Reyes and determined he was the only adult at home and was baby-sitting the two children, aged 2 and 3, according to the release.

Authorities said the deputies noticed the 2-year-old was having difficulty standing, had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol and was lethargic. At the time, the children's parents were at Brookhaven Hospital, where the mother was giving birth.

The toddler also was taken to the hospital, where tests revealed he was legally intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of 0.094, the sheriff's office said. The second child was taken into the custody of Child Protective Services.

The Suffolk County District Attorney's office said Reyes was being represented by the Legal Aid Society. Calls to the society went unanswered Wednesday evening. - Sapa-AP



...LOL, Lucky kid!