Westlake, OH- An Ohio mother, aged 32, faces house arrest after leaving her three young children unattended for several days while she traveled to Florida to support a friend undergoing liposuction.
Domonique Knowles appeared in Rocky River Municipal Court on Wednesday, where a judge sentenced her to 360 days of house arrest and five years of probation.
On Wednesday, a sentencing hearing took place following a bench trial where the judge determined Knowles was guilty of two misdemeanor counts of endangering children. She was looking at a potential sentence of 6 months in jail and a fine that could reach $1,000.
Authorities reported that Knowles’ children, including a 10-year-old girl and 7-year-old twin girls with special needs, were abandoned in a neglected apartment for three days without access to a functioning phone.
The inquiry into Knowles started when a young child on February 22, 2024, told their teacher at Westlake City Schools that she and her siblings were left alone at home while their mother was away in another state, according to Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC.
A 7-year-old allegedly informed the teacher that Knowles would occasionally connect with the children via video chat on a laptop and was arranging for food deliveries for them.
A special education teacher contacted 911 to request a welfare check on the children, informing the police that she suspected the mother was in Texas.
Authorities arrived at the apartment, noting its disarray, and discovered the children unsupervised. A home was found filled with trash, and an unidentified liquid on the floor led to one of the 7-year-old girls falling in front of the responding officers.
Authorities successfully found Knowles’ mother and entrusted the children to their grandmother’s care. The grandmother informed the police that her daughter was not out of state and was instead with a friend who had been admitted to the hospital.
The prosecutor highlighted that Knowles was not truthful with her mother regarding her location after police tracked her cell phone to Florida.