A Calhoun County father has been arrested for allegedly leaving his young child in the car while he spent time visiting a Battle Creek area strip club. He is now facing charges, although he claims it isn’t what it looks like.
According to police records, three men at the club stepped outside to have a smoke at about 1 am, but heard noises in the parking lot and went out to investigate. They discovered a crying baby in the backseat of a vehicle parked in the strip club parking lot, and after waiting around to see if anyone came back to the car, they called police. Calhoun County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Heartbeats club on Avenue A in Springfield. Deputies arrived and were shown the baby crying in a car.
The vehicle was soon identified as belonging to 32-year-old Joshua Edwards, who was found drinking inside the club. When questioned by police, Edwards admitted that he had come to the club for the sole purpose of bringing some money to the baby’s mother, who works at the club. However, once there he decided that it would be okay to stay and have a quick drink.
According to Sherrif Saxton, the men who found the unattended child wrote in their statements that they waited for about 10 minutes before calling police. He said in his statement that “The father of the child dropped off the mother of the child earlier in the evening at the business (Heartbeats). From the investigation it appears she was working ‘there’.”
He returned later that same night to bring her money. According to what Edward’s girlfriend told police, she met with Edwards, got money from him, and then went back to work. She had no idea that he decided to stay and have a drink. Witnesses say that he allegedly ordered a beer and stayed inside the club for about 30 minutes.
Edwards was formally charged on Monday morning with misdemeanor child abuse charges for leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. Under Michigan law, Fourth Degree Child Abuse is “when someone’s reckless act or omission causes a child to be physically harmed, or if someone knowingly or intentionally does something that, under the circumstances, puts a child at risk of being harmed, even if nothing actually happens to that child.” Misdemeanor child abuse is punishable by up to 93 days in jail and fines of up to $500.
Sometimes parents make poor choices. Whether it’s stress, lack of sleep, frustration, ignorance of the law, or simply the mistakes that make us all human, no one is perfect. At The Kronzek Firm, we understand that parenting is hard, and parents are people, which means that they make mistakes and screw up sometimes. If you made a mistake or a bad choice in your parenting that has brought police or CPS into your life, call us immediately at 866 766 5245. We are here to help you.