Mom accused of leaving child in car outside casino for hours while she gambled
Police in Bucks County say Leola Dualuqua, 37, was found gambling inside of a casino while her 14-month-old child was left unattended inside of a car in the casino parking lot for two-and-a-half hours.
BENSALEM, Pa. - A New Jersey mom has been arrested and charged after police say she left her young child unattended inside her vehicle for hours last week while she was inside a casino gambling.
The backstory:
Bensalem Township Police were called to the Parx Casino parking lot shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 14 for a report of a child left unattended inside a vehicle.
Officers arrived and found a 14-month-old child in the backseat of a locked car. The vehicle was locked, not running, and the windows were closed.
Police say the child appeared to be sleeping, but was sweating as outside temperatures on that day were in the mid-80s.
Officers were able to get into the vehicle and contact the child’s father. The child was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation and was later released to his father.
Casino security assisted police with their investigation and determined the child’s mother had left the child in the car around 6:30 p.m. and did not return.
The mother, later identified as 37-year-old Leola Dualuqua of Willingboro, was later found inside the casino actively gambling, according to police.
Dualuqua was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and leaving a child in an unattended motor vehicle.
What's next:
She was arraigned and remanded to Bucks County Correctional facility on $25,000 bond.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 30, according to court documents.