An Ohio man has been charged after leaving his children unattended for an extended period of time while they rode a roller coaster at Cedar Point last weekend.
The father, a 36-year-old Kansas resident, took his four children – ages 2, 4, 8 and 9 – to the amusement park on Friday, according to Lt. C. Denny of the Sandusky Police Department.
There, the man decided to take his eldest child for a ride, leaving the 8-year-old to look after the two youngest. The trio remained alone for a while without adult supervision.
According to an incident report obtained by USA TODAY, a woman spotted one of the children near the Magum XL-200 roller coaster, where he was “playing in the dirt.” As she walked with the child to another attraction called the Corkscrew, she noticed the other sibling alone in a car. She waited about 20 minutes until the father returned.
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In a conversation with an officer on site, the man told authorities that he had left the children alone several times.
“I asked (the man) how many times he had ridden and left the children unattended. (He) said three, but he had ridden one of the rides twice,” the officer wrote in the report. “Based on his statements, it was determined that (the children) had been left unattended several times throughout the day.”
The man was charged with child endangerment, a misdemeanor, because he failed to supervise the children “which could result in substantial danger,” police said. Because the man was the children’s sole guardian, a judge allowed him to be released on bail.
According to the incident report, his case was reported to the Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services.
Last year, Ohio mother Kristel Candelario was arrested and charged in connection with the death of her 16-month-old daughter after authorities said she left her daughter home alone while she went on vacation for about 10 days.
In March, Candelario was sentenced to life in prison, according to several reports.
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected].
