Racqual Roniquel Hicks, a mother in Ohio, was arrested on Thursday night after she left her seven children, ages 11 months, 1, 2, 6, 10, 13, and 15 years, in a car and went gambling at a local internet cafe.
On March 19 at 9:15 p.m., Hicks allegedly put her children in the car and drove to Luna’s Internet Cafe in the 4000 block of Secor Road in Toledo, according to a criminal complaint filed in Toledo Municipal Court. The complaint also mentioned that Hicks posed “substantial risk” to the children for several reasons.
first, after reaching the cafe, Hicks “did knowingly leave the children in the car” for almost forty minutes, from 9:20 p.m. until around 10 p.m. second, the car also did not have proper seats for the younger children, and Hicks drove despite her license being suspended.
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The complaint further mentioned that she was “gambling at the listed location” while her children remained in the car, “unsupervised,” which could have led to the children getting into some kind of danger or hurting themselves.
After her arrest, Hicks was booked into Lucas County Corrections Center. She appeared in court on Friday before Toledo Municipal Judge Joseph J. Howe. Despite the charges against her, which consisted of seven counts of child endangerment, one per child, she pleaded not guilty on all counts.
While the judge ordered her to be released on her own recognizance, she has been asked to wear a GPS tracking device to ensure that her location remains recorded and in case such events happen in the future again, prompt actions can be taken. Hicks was also found to be unable to get a lawyer of her own and therefore she was provided with a public defender.
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The case highlights how negligence on the part of parents can lead to children getting affected. While nothing extreme happened to Hicks’ children during the time they were in the car alone, things could have gone wrong with disastrous consequences. It is important for parents to be careful about their children, especially if they have to be left alone.
It has not been revealed by authorities how the police were informed of the situation. In a number of such cases, anonymous tips or information from passersby help the law enforcement officials to take quick actions.
Since the next court date for Hicks has not yet been decided, more information about the future of her child and if Child protective services need to get involved remain to be seen.
