Parents Charged with Leaving Child at Motel

June 11, 2004 12:00 am

The Associated Press
(Stafford-AP) -- A Culpeper County couple was charged with felony child neglect after they left their four-year-old daughter at a motel in southern Stafford, while they went to the store in Fredericksburg.

Stafford Sheriff Charles Jett said the child was alone and crying when she was found early Tuesday at the Howard Johnson motel.

Jett said Deputy Alex Smith and others were with the girl by the time her parents returned to the motel room at 1:30 a.m.

The parents -- 34-year-old Bryan Perkins and 26-year-old Patricia Ann Perkins of Brandy Station -- were placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.

According to Jett, a witness said she heard a child crying for about 30 minutes, then went upstairs to investigate. She found the child alone and in distress and escorted her to the front office when she was unable to locate the parents. Smith showed up about 1:15 a.m., and contacted social workers. The girl was placed in the custody of a family member.