Mom faces charges, daughter missed nearly 2 years of school

CLERMONT, Fla.,None — A central Florida mother is in trouble with the law because her daughter missed nearly two years of school.

The State Attorney's Office said Elizabeth Marrero's daughter missed nearly two full years of school at Windy Mill Middle in Clermont. The girl hasn't attended classes since the 2009-2010 school year.

Lake County school district officials said they tried working with Marrero to get her daughter back to school, but nothing worked.

So as last resort, they sent the case over to the state attorney's office, which put a warrant out for her arrest.

Marrero turned herself into the sheriff's office last week.

School officials would not release the girl's age or name because of confidentiality rules. They did say the girl only attended five days of school during the normal 180-day school year.

School officials say the girl should now be in high school, but she never completed middle school.

Marrero's neighbors couldn't believe the news.

“I mean two years? A couple of months okay. Two years? That’s too much. She needs to be arrested and prosecuted,” said neighbor Abe Desouza.

"It's shocking because why wouldn't a parent send their kid to school?" said Francis Pimento, Marerro's neighbor.

Marrero has since bonded out of jail. She’s charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

A judge will decide if Marrero will be sentenced to any jail time. The offense she faces is a second-degree misdemeanor.

WFTV