Dad Leaves Two Children Alone In Hotel Room To Go Black Friday Shopping

A dad leaves two children alone in a hotel room so he could join his wife for Black Friday shopping. The incident happened in Woodbury, New York on Friday when a hotel employee discovered a 4-year-old boy wandering the hotel hallway crying around 4 am. The Journal News reports that Toru Sakaguchi, of Princeton, New Jersey, was arrested and faces one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

The boy and his 11-year-old disabled sister were left to fend for themselves at Hampton Inn in Central Valley, police say. When officers arrived to check on the problem, they followed the 4-year-old to their hotel room. They knocked on the door, but no one answered. Reception attempted calling the room with no answer. When none of their efforts were successful, authorities entered to find the 11-year-old by herself with no adults around.

Hotel workers called Sakaguchi and informed him of the situation and urged him to return immediately. He showed about 4:30 am.

The 40-year-old father told investigators that he left the two children about 3 am. so he could pick up his wife at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. Once he made it to the mall, he shopped with her for an hour.

Both children were examined by a doctor and no injuries are reported. Sakaguchi was released without bail and is scheduled to appear in Woodbury Town Court at 5:30 pm on December 10.

In April, a mother in Connecticut left four children alone in a car so she could go shopping, WFSB Channel 3 reports. The kids were between the ages of 2 and 9-years-old. All four were waiting for her in a vehicle parked at the New Brite Plaza Shopping Center. The mother, Rosalie Rivera, identified herself to police and took responsibility for the children. It was noted in the report that Rivera wasn’t cooperative with police and was charged with interfering with police, and leaving a child unsupervised in a motor vehicle.

As the Inquisitr reported recently, a British mother left her six children so she could go on a six week vacation to Australia to see a man she met online. Although police and her parents called for her to return, she refused until she was scheduled to fly back home.

During the summer months, news of children being left alone in hot cars makes headlines while the colder time of year it’s also reported that a mom or dad leaves their children alone at home or somewhere like a hotel room while they shop or run errands.

[Image via NBC News]