GROVETOWN, Ga. — A Georgia mother was arrested after deputies said she left her toddler locked in a closet for hours while she made deliveries for DoorDash.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said that the child’s grandmother, Robin Lucas, told deputies she was worried her 22-month-old grandson was locked in his apartment by himself.
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The child’s father, Miles Lucas, said the child’s mother, Shania Sebastian, would leave the child by himself for hours at a time.
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Deputies knocked on the door of the apartment but got no response.
Columbia County firefighters responded and used a ladder to climb up to the back patio, where they found an unlocked door.
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Deputies found the child sleeping on the floor in a back bedroom closet, surrounded by trash and other small items he could have choked on.
First responders examined the child and found he had several small bruises on his body and what appeared to be fecal matter in one of his ears.
The inside of the apartment was in deplorable condition with the floors covered in trash, animal feces and dirty diapers. Deputies said the apartment also had a strong odor of fecal matter and urine.
Five cats were found locked in a bedroom with no water and cat feces covering the floor. A bird was found in a closet with bird feces covering the walls and floor, according to the report. A pitbull was found roaming the apartment. There was also dog feces on the floor.
An animal control officer responded and took possession of the animals.
The child was placed in the custody of his grandmother.
Sebastian was taken into custody when she got back to the apartment at around 4 a.m.
She told officers she didn’t take the child with her to deliver Doordash orders because it wasn’t good for his spine to be in the car seat.
“Shania showed no remorse for her actions and was only concerned about what happened to her animals,” officers said in the report. “Shania never asked about (the child) or his condition.”
She’s been charged with first-degree cruelty to children and first-degree cruelty to animals.
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