Florida Stepdad Charged with Child Neglect After Leaving 6-Year-Old Outside Empty Apartment

Ricindy Seaphin, 32, dropped his stepson off alone outside a North Miami apartment complex, where the boy wandered to a Family Dollar to seek help from strangers.

Florida Stepdad Left 6-Year-Old Alone Outside Apartment, Boy Sought Help at Family Dollar

A 32-year-old man from North Miami faces a child neglect charge after dropping his 6-year-old stepson off outside an empty apartment complex and driving away, according to Law & Crime.

Ricindy Seaphin was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with one count of child neglect without great bodily harm, police records show. Officers with the North Miami Police Department responded to an apartment complex on Memorial Highway at approximately 6:42 p.m. following a report of an unsupervised young child.

The boy's mother had previously told Seaphin she would not be home when he picked the child up from school. Despite that, Seaphin drove the boy to the complex and left without walking him to the apartment door or confirming that any adult was present.

"The defendant admitted that he was in a rush and intentionally dropped the victim off in front of the apartment complex without verifying that anyone was home," officers wrote in the probable cause affidavit. Seaphin also told police he normally walks the child to the apartment door and hands him off to his mother, but did not do so that day.

The boy left the complex on his own and walked to a Family Dollar at 280 NE 135th Street, where he approached strangers and asked someone to call police, the affidavit states. A witness located the child and accompanied him back to the apartment. Finding no one inside, the witness stayed with the boy, gave him food and remained until law enforcement arrived.

Investigators determined Seaphin had dropped the child off at around 3:20 p.m. The witness did not locate him until approximately 4:15 p.m., leaving the 6-year-old without adult supervision for roughly 55 minutes.

Seaphin returned to the apartment complex later that evening and agreed to speak with officers after being read his Miranda rights. Following the interview, he was arrested, processed at the North Miami Police Department and transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He was subsequently released after posting $2,500 bond.

Source: Law & Crime