INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An Indianapolis father accused of child neglect said it was all an innocent mistake. Police arrested Charles Reed after his young children left their home when he fell asleep last week.
Reed's three-year-old child was found wandering the parking lot. His one-year-old child was found several hundred feet away sitting between two parked cars on the asphalt with the temperature in the 80s. Neighbors said the child was crying and needed attention.
"I picked her up, took her in the apartment. I fed her, changed her, put some clothes on her...she was wearing an outfit that was too hot for this weather," said neighbor Rosemary Lawless.
When police arrived, they went door-to-door looking for the parents.
"According to the report he apparently wasn't too concerned with the welfare of the kids and stated that he had fallen asleep," said IMPD Sgt. Paul Thompson.
The report also said that Reed laughed when police showed up.
"I smirked... I said, 'You can't be serious that you're taking my kids for an accident.' And one of the officers said 'You have no idea how serious this is'," said Reed.
"You should have a responsible person awake at all times because, if you do fall asleep, you don't know when your kids will wake up and possibly get injured or get into some type of mischief," said Sgt. Thompson.
"We should have took more precautions. We should have and that's the truth," said Reed.
Reed was arrested and charged with child neglect. The children were placed in the care of Child Protective Services.
Reed said that he is working with CPS to make the house safer. He will also be monitored by CPS when he is with the kids and he must take parenting classes.
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