AVENTURA, Fla. – An 18-year-old babysitter has been charged with child neglect after she left a 4-year-old child in her care alone, according to police.
Aventura Police said Elizabeth Leon was hired to watch the child on Friday, Aug. 5 from 1:45 p.m. until midnight, but left the child alone for more than 2 hours.
An arrest report states that the mother texted Leon at 11:14 p.m. to say she was on her way home and would be home by midnight.
“The defendant responded back that she was heading out . . .because her mother paid for an Uber to take her back home and it arrived ahead of time,” according to the report.
She told the woman that she had locked the door prior to leaving and that the child was asleep. Leon requested her payment of $168.
The woman then reviewed home Ring camera, which showed Leon leaving at 9:45 p.m. When the mother confronted the babysitter about the video via text, Leon admitted to leaving early, that she was sorry for lying to her, and that she would only require $141.
Leon then texted that if she didn’t feel she shouldn’t be paid for her services because she left early, that would be OK, according to the report.
On Wednesday, Aug. 17, an investigator contacted Leon and informed her that they had been assigned to follow up on the case. Leon was asked to meet the investigator at the Aventura Police Department the next day.
Shortly after, the investigator received a call from an attorney representing Leon. Arrangements were made with the investigator and the attorney for Leon’s surrender to police on Monday, Aug. 22. She arrived at the Aventura Police, but told police she would not be making any statements, according to reports.
Leon was arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.