CBS4 Exclusive: Grandmother Fights To Keep Family Together After Children Left Home Alone
LAUDERHILL(CBS4)-- A Broward grandmother said she will do everything she can to keep a divided family together after a mother is accused of repeatedly leaving her children home alone with no food and electricity and giving them medication to make them go to sleep.
"They are doing okay," said Kim Stanley, the children's grandmother in an exclusive interview with CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "They are resilient."
"You are doing your best to kept the children together?" asked D'Oench.
"I am, yes," she said. "That's what I hope to do. That's what I am praying for."
The two boys and three girls are between the ages of 7 months and 7-years old.
Stanley spoke to D'Oench briefly Friday afternoon when she stopped at the mother's home. She has temporary custody of the three oldest children. The two youngest children are in foster care.
There will be another shelter hearing for them on March 19th.
The children's great grandfather, James Muhammad, told D'Oench that the three oldest children were doing well.
"They are going to be okay. They are okay because their grandmother is taking care of them."
But Muhammad was upset that the children had been left home alone.
"Well you are not supposed to do that, especially with young children," he said.
The children's 26-year-old mother, Grace Pressey, was held on $2,000 bond after a court appearance and is charged with five counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.
Lauderhill Police Lt. Mike Butkus said the two boys and three girls were frequently left home alone for extended periods of time and given over-the-counter cold medicine including Benadryl and Nyquil to make them go to sleep while the mother went to work between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. as "an entertainment dancer."
"With no power and no air flow, there was an odor coming from the residence," said Butkus. "Essentially we look at this situation as fortunate and I say fortunate because these children were not seriously injured."
"The children did say they were given sleeping pills," he said. "We cannot confirm that, but we know they were given Benadryl and Nyquil."
Police said Pressey confessed to leaving the child home alone with no food, no emergency telephone contacts and no electricity after the power was disconnected for "lack of payment" on February 10th.
Police said Pressey also confessed that she left the children home alone "multiple times" and said she knew she was "taking risks" but said she had no other choice because she had to pay her bills.
The Department of Children and Families told CBS4 that social workers had "some contact" with the family before.
Judge John Hurley revealed some of the disturbing details when Pressey appeared in bond court.
"Three children stated that they were left home alone multiple times, with no food, no phone, no power. Three children stated you gave them sleeping pills described as pink."
Neighbors living near the home at 3440 N.W. 5th Place expressed concern.
"Anything could have happened to those kids," said neighbor Brandi Johnson. "I saw them around. They were happy kids. A fire could have started. Someone could have broken into the house. Her job is more important that the kids? That's messed up."
"She could have turned to other neighbors for help if she needed it with the kids," she said. "She should have done that."
Lt. Butkus agreed that troubled parents should seek help. "Parents do have options," he said.
Mamie Roberson said, "I think it's sad. It is sad for the girls and all the kids. There has to be something wrong with this picture. She was out nights working for money and yet the power was off. Where did the money go?"
Another neighbor, Iliane Bernadin, said "She's a good neighbor and a good mother. I used to see her in the day time around 11 o'clock or noon and I would talk to her and the kids. I never saw anything wrong."
It was not known here Pressey worked as an "entertainment dancer."
Neighbor Greg Harden said, "This is messed up. If you get me talking about it, I would start cussing and I don't want to do that."
