Mother Pays Off Drug Debt But Loses Child

Children Need Proper Supervision

A mother is expected to be the one person a baby can depend on to take care of them. Especially in today’s age of deadbeat fathers and wayward children, mothers have been a dependable backbone of society. That is why the story of Orlando mother Jennifer Jones is so disturbing.

Thirty year old Jones is accused of child neglect after abandoning her 1 year old child to have sex. The woman left her child with a security guard at Intown Suites on Lee Road. Jones told the guard she would only be gone for a few minutes, but instead was gone for over six hours. Sheriff reports state that the woman was exchanging sex to pay off a drug debt.

Jones is being held on charges of neglect. In Florida, child neglect is defined as the failure to provide a child with the supervision, care or services needed for good physical or mental health. Some examples of this include food, clothing, shelter and medical services. Obviously there can be many different interpretations of good physical or mental health and that is why an Orlando child abuse lawyer might be helpful in situations like this.

In the case of Jennifer Jones, in the hours that Jones left her baby with a stranger she did not provide either food, diapers, or a way to contact her. The cell phone number she left was never answered after the security guard began calling 6 hours after she left the baby. It was also 12:30am and very cold when she left the toddler. The security guard mentioned in reports that he reluctantly agreed to watch the child because he was concerned about his well-being in the cold midnight weather.

Sadly enough, the security guard was not Jones’ first choice. Guest at the hotel state that she had asked them to watch her child also. When every one of them said no Jones was forced to ask the security guard.

When she finally returned, officials were waiting for her. Jones was arrested and eventually lost custody of the child. Because Jones and the child’s father both have history of drug abuse, the toddler was not allowed to remain with the parents, but he was allowed to live with her family. The father, Philip Shines, asked the court for unsupervised visitations, but was denied due to a possible history of violence and drug abuse. He was, however, granted supervised visitation. Jones will remain in prison, but she will be allowed supervised visitation if she is able to post bond. Both parents are required to have drug testing.

Even though Jones could still be able to see her son, her difficulties have only just begun. She will most likely need an Orlando child abuse lawyer to assist her with getting her child back and prevent prison time. In addition to possibly immediately losing your child, the crime of child neglect is a 3rd degree felony. If convicted, Jones could spend up to five years in prison plus fines.