ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County babysitter is behind bars after deputies say a young non-verbal child with autism wandered away from a home and was found crying near a busy intersection.
Investigators said the child was found alone late Sunday night near Oak Ridge Road. According to an arrest affidavit, the child was “crying and screaming in extreme distress” and dangerously close to traffic. Deputies said no parent or caregiver was nearby.
Neighbors told Channel 9 that deputies spent a long time going door-to-door at the Royal Palms apartments in the middle of the night, trying to figure out where the child lived.
“They knock every door,” neighbor Inerve Petit Frere said. “When I came outside to ask what’s going on, police say they see the little girl, like three years old, and they don’t find no family.”
Deputies later arrested 20-year-old Lakyah Carter, who investigators said had been hired as the child’s babysitter.
The report says Carter told deputies the child is non-verbal and autistic. Investigators said Carter “failed to provide the care and supervision necessary to maintain the child’s physical health by leaving the child entirely unattended.”
It is not yet clear what Carter was doing at the time or how long the child had been outside before deputies found them.
Neighbors said the incident is a reminder of how quickly young children can get away if they are not closely watched.
“If somebody could watch the baby, you could keep checking every five minutes, 10 minutes,” Petit Frere said. “I have a grandkid. I’m always keeping check because I know how babies are. If they can open the door, they can go out.”
A judge set Carter’s bond at $2,500.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.