Thread: Mom Sentenced To 6 Months For Leaving Baby In Hollywood

http://www.nbc6.net/news/9884474/detail.html

Mom Sentenced To 6 Months For Leaving Baby In Hollywood

POSTED: 10:56 am EDT September 19, 2006



FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A woman charged with leaving her 2-week-old baby with a stranger at a Hollywood coin-operated laundry has been sentenced to six months in prison.

As part of a plea deal, 28-year-old Blanca Román-Morales pleaded no contest to a child neglect charge.

Her attorney said Román-Morales has already served most of the time and will voluntarily leave the country in a few weeks. If she doesn't, the State's Attorney's Office said she'll have to serve five years of probation.

Román-Morales will apparently go to Mexico and be reunited with her baby who is living there with family.

Police said Román-Morales was carrying her son in a car seat in April on her way to a store. She apparently left the baby with a stranger at the coin-operated laundry because he was heavy.

She went to pick him up on her way home, but saw an officer with the baby.

A police spokesman said Roman-Morales got scared and went home because she is an illegal immigrant.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/ ... ws-broward

Mother who left child with stranger to regain custody in Mexico

By Marlene Naanes
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted September 19 2006


A mother arrested for leaving her 2-week-old baby with a stranger at a Hollywood coin laundry will be reunited with the boy in a few weeks, her attorney said Monday.

Blanca Román-Morales, 28, pleaded no contest to a child neglect charge in Broward Circuit Court on Monday and was sentenced to six months in prison as part of a plea agreement.

Morales, an illegal immigrant from Chiapas, Mexico, has already spent most of that time in the Broward County jail and will voluntarily leave the country in a few weeks, said her attorney, David Kubiliun. A court last week ordered that her son, José, be sent to live with Morales' sister, mother and niece in Chiapas.

"We thought the [plea agreement] was the fastest way for her to be reunited with her baby," Kubiliun said.

Morales left Jose with a stranger in April. Police said at the time she planned to pick up the boy after she walked to a nearby drugstore.

A police officer passing by saw Jose in a car seat with no one watching him and checked to see if he was abandoned. When Morales returned from the drugstore, she saw the officer and left, fearful of her immigration status, police said at the time.

She later surrendered to police. Jose, who was found in good condition, has been in a foster home since April.

Morales was also sentenced to five years' probation, which she will not have to complete if she follows through with deportation, the State Attorney's Office said.



http://www.nbc6.net/news/8862454/detail.html

Mother Of Abandoned Baby Turns Self In
Baby Found In Front Of Laundromat

POSTED: 5:52 pm EDT April 20, 2006
UPDATED: 6:52 pm EDT April 20, 2006

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- The mother of a baby found abandoned in front of a Laundromat on Wednesday has turned herself in to Hollywood police.

Blanca Morales, 28, told Hollywood police that she left her 2-week-old son, Jose, with a stranger in front of a Laundromat near Johnson Street and North 20th Avenue on Wednesday because the baby got too heavy.

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Morales' roommate, who identified himself only as "Frank," said he had been baby-sitting the child while Morales walked to a drugstore on Johnson Street. Before going to an appointment, Frank said he dropped the baby off with his mother in a car seat.

"The baby was handed over to the mother. And all of a sudden now, this transpires. So we had no clue that the mother was pushed to this point of abandoning her child," Frank said.

Frank said that he, Morales and a few others have been sharing an apartment a few blocks from the Laundromat for the past few months. He described Morales as a busy single mother who struggles to juggle school and motherhood.

"If she can't fend for them, then we will seek other help, because I have family who's willing to take the baby," Frank said.

Morales was questioned for most of the day at the Hollywood Police Department. Police said she is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico and did not claim her baby for 24 hours because she was afraid.

"She came back and she saw the police officer with her baby, asking people about the whereabouts of the mother of the baby. She became afraid due to the fact that she's an illegal immigrant," said Carlos Negron, of the Hollywood Police Department.

A shelter hearing for Jose Morales was held on Thursday, but there was no one in the courtroom to claim him, so the judge had no choice but to leave him in the state's custody.

Morales faces one count of child neglect.





http://www.nbc6.net/news/8827728/detail.html

Baby Found Abandoned On Hollywood Sidewalk
Police Believe Baby Is 3 Or 4 Weeks Old

POSTED: 1:24 pm EDT April 19, 2006
UPDATED: 11:12 am EDT April 20, 2006

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Hollywood police are searching for the parents of a baby who was found on a sidewalk Wednesday morning.

Police said they believe the baby boy is Hispanic and 3 or 4 weeks old. He was found wearing a white T-shirt and a diaper.

A female police officer patrolling the area saw the baby lying in a car seat in front of a Laundromat on 19th Avenue and Johnson Street at about 10:40 a.m.

"All of a sudden she sees the baby -- little head bopping, looking around -- and that's when she went to the Laundromat. She asked a couple of people who were inside washing clothes," said Carlos Negron, of the Hollywood police.

No one in the Laundromat knew who the parents were.

"(He's a) beautiful little boy. (He) looked well cared for -- no bruises that I saw on his face or his arms," said Mariam McDoom, a witness.

The officer then called Hollywood Fire Rescue and the baby was taken to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital to be checked.

NBC 6's Amara Sohn reported that the baby was found in a shaded area on the sidewalk and was not affected by the heat or sun.

"The baby was a little bit warm -- I mean, fair to say, because of the sun -- but the baby was fine," Negron said.

Some people who were in the Laundromat told police that they saw a man standing near the baby with a blanket and a bottle just minutes before the officer found him, Sohn reported.

"With all of these people walking around, someone could have just grabbed the baby and taken him away," Negron said.

Police were trying to determine if the baby was intentionally abandoned.

"Mom, if you're watching, please come here, come to the station. Call the police. We just want to talk to you to see what happened, if it was an accident or not," Negron said.

The child has been released from the hospital and into the state's custody.

Under Florida's Safe Haven law, parents can drop off their babies up to three days old at fire stations, hospitals and emergency medical facilities without fear of prosecution.

Anyone with information should call the Hollywood Police Department.

For more information on the Safe Haven law, visit www.asafehavenfornewborns.com.

If she doesn't, the State's Attorney's Office said she'll have to serve five years of probation.

That's a woman? sure fooled me.
What the hell kind of punishment is this??
How about deporting her illegal butt instead of giving her these options. She's illegal and needs to leave.

Wait, wait, back up ..... the baby is 2 weeks? How long had this lady been in the States?

I ask because if she had that baby here and will be reunited with the baby in Mexico then would that not seem to set the precedent for "anchor" babies NOT being American citizens?

You are correct Ladydrake, it does say "two week old baby".

Okay so if this baby can go to Mexico w/ her, why can't poor helpless little Saul go back w/ Elvira? (yes i'm being sarcastic as hell!)

Her anchor baby is no longer as the child is in custody of the State. The child should remain that way and she can have her butt kicked back to Mexico. If the baby goes with her, the child can come back here with his family as an adult. It would be better for the child to stay here and not know his mother as he will be educated and cared for in an American home and therefore would not bring any others into this country.

Okay so if this baby can go to Mexico w/ her, why can't poor helpless little Saul go back w/ Elvira? (yes i'm being sarcastic as hell!)

That's exactly why I was asking and no, I wasn't being sarcastic. If a baby can be sent home, so can Saul and every other "anchor baby" along with their illegal family.

Her anchor baby is no longer as the child is in custody of the State. The child should remain that way and she can have her butt kicked back to Mexico. If the baby goes with her, the child can come back here with his family as an adult. It would be better for the child to stay here and not know his mother as he will be educated and cared for in an American home and therefore would not bring any others into this country.

I disagree that the child should remain here. The baby is not a legal American citizen any more than Blanca Morales is. Less chance of a baby crossing the border than an adult. Not to mention that by the time the baby is an adult, hopefully our borders will be secured.

We really can't say the baby will in fact know Morales if she's already abandoned it once. Who's to say she (Morales) won't bail again and try come back?

As far as education goes, yes it's better here than in Mexico. Guess Mexico needs to shape up then because their education is not our responsibility. Personally, I'd much rather see our own children receive the benefits of an even better education that they are being denied because of the school standards being lowered to appease illegals.