Port Charlotte, FL – April 25, 2022

A mother is facing a child neglect charge after leaving 5-year-old son home alone while she took boyfriend to work.

Around 7:23 Monday morning, deputies responded to a vehicle crash on the 41 bridge involving Jasmine A. Rodriguez (6/17/1994). While investigating the crash, Rodriguez notified her parents and requested they pick up her 5-year-old son. Unfortunately, Rodriguez did not have the exact address of where she left him, only that it was somewhere on Easy Street. The grandparents began checking the area of Easy Street and subsequently located their grandson alone, standing on the side of an unknown residence. The grandparents took custody of their grandson and immediately notified the sheriff’s office just before 9 am.

Detectives learned that Jasmine Rodriguez had left the child home alone while she drove her boyfriend to work and in the process, got into a traffic accident. At no point during the interaction with deputies at the scene of the crash did Jasmine mention her 5-year-old son was home without supervision.

Rodriguez was transported to a local hospital and released after treatment. While there, detectives arrived to speak with the mother and boyfriend. After obtaining conflicting information, the mother admitted to leaving the child alone and was taken into custody for Child Neglect.

“There is no excuse for the lack of concern this mother had for the safety and well-being of her child. Hopefully her stay at the CCSO jail will be a reminder that children always come first,” states Sheriff Prummell.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) released the child to his grandparents.