Wilbert Anderson and Mabel Fisher charged with "child desertion"

**Dakota Valkyrie** · August 25th, 2009, 02:28 PM

[...]
Wilbert Lee Anderson, 34, and Mabel Ruth Fisher, 29, both of 415 Daspit St., Alexandria, were charged with child desertion, police said.

According to Alexandria police, the two left Fisher's 7-month-old son and Anderson's 16-month-old son in the care of Anderson's 12-year-old daughter without telling the girl where they were going or when they would return.

The girl told police that her father had asked her to come spend time with him Saturday afternoon. She and the 16-month-old boy went to the Daspit Street home. She said that on Sunday morning, Fisher and Anderson left the children home alone to run an errand. They came back about an hour later.

Around 5 p.m. Sunday, the couple left again, leaving the children alone without telling the girl where they were going or when they would get back, police reported. About an hour and a half later, the girl called her mother to tell her that she was alone with the two small children.

Police and the Office of Community Services were called. Anderson's two children were given to the care of their mother, and Fisher's son to the care of his father.

While police were still at the Daspit Street home completing paper work around 9:40 p.m., Fisher and Anderson got home and asked what was happening and where their children were. Police explained what was going on.

The couple told officers that they had left the infants in the care of the 12-year-old around 6 p.m. thinking she could look after the infants with "no problem," authorities reported. They said they went to go eat at Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville but didn't tell the girl where they were going or when they would come back, police said.

http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/2...ting-at-casino

Most 12-year-olds make great babysitters... although a few hours with a couple of wide-awake kids that age may be a bit much for anyone.

Didn't they have a cell phone?? I have never left a kid with ANYONE without more than enough ways to contact me.

**thequeenofsorrow** · August 25th, 2009, 02:36 PM

Damn they had to go to the casino that bad? poor 12 year old i guess she thought someone really wanted to spend time with her and they just wanted free baby-sitting.

**cubby** · August 25th, 2009, 02:37 PM

The little girl did exactly right. She was supposed to be there to spend time with her father not to be a babysitter for him and his woman. It was wrong for her father to do that to her.

**AngelFire** · August 25th, 2009, 07:20 PM

Originally Posted by thequeenofsorrow

Damn they had to go to the casino that bad? poor 12 year old i guess she thought someone really wanted to spend time with her and they just wanted free baby-sitting.

Disgusting, isn't it? I bet this little girl was crushed when she figured out she was being used by good ole dad. scumbuckets

**Chaindrive** · August 25th, 2009, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by thequeenofsorrow

Damn they had to go to the casino that bad?

Yes, they did. I work in a casino. You'd be surprised how addicted people are to a casino. They leave their kids anywhere - bathroom, rooms, cars, etc., just to get that fix.

**Zsu Zsu's Petals** · August 25th, 2009, 11:53 PM

Originally Posted by Chaindrive

Yes, they did. I work in a casino. You'd be surprised how addicted people are to a casino. They leave their kids anywhere - bathroom, rooms, cars, etc., just to get that fix.

Yep. I'm an infrequent visitor to casinos (can count on one hand the number of times I've been in the past 5 years), but each time I go, whether it is an Indian casino or one in NV, I continually see parents doing dumb things.

You'll see families taking turns walking strollers around the perimeter of the gaming area, while each of the adults take turns going off. Lots of bored kids.

Saddest one I saw was when my dad moved to Henderson, AZ. Henderson is just a short car ride from Laughlin NV. DH and I went out the Thanksgiving before my son was born to visit, and we went gambling with my dad and his gf at the time-- lots of little kids hanging out outside with stressed out slightly older siblings while mom and dad gambled on Thanksgiving night.

Well, at least they'll have something to share in therapy later on.

**Chaindrive** · August 26th, 2009, 12:13 AM

ZZ, I think you might mean Henderson, NV, not AZ. ;)

My casino (Indian) offers KidsQuest (babysitting in an arcade type of deal), movie theaters, kid's pool, beach, food court, etc. Still, parents try to leave their kids anywhere. I hate that.

**Zsu Zsu's Petals** · August 26th, 2009, 12:27 AM

Originally Posted by Chaindrive

ZZ, I think you might mean Henderson, NV, not AZ. ;)

My casino (Indian) offers KidsQuest (babysitting in an arcade type of deal), movie theaters, kid's pool, beach, food court, etc. Still, parents try to leave their kids anywhere. I hate that.

Ack! I had to look it up. He lives in Phoenix now, but the town I was thinking of was Bullhead City. It's only been 12 years since I've been there.

I don't think any of the casinos around here have any sort of child care. Not sure, since usually if we go, it's when the kids are doing an overnight with the grands, and we do dinner and then blow 40 bucks before heading out.

**scorpiogirl** · August 26th, 2009, 12:52 AM

There are CONSTANTLY reports of parents leaving they're small and not so small children in the car while spending HOURS in our local casino. Kids are taught to hide in the floor boards by they're parents to avoid being seen by parking lot security. There was just a story this week about a 4 year old who entered the casino lobby asking for her daddy at 7am in our local paper, security cameras showed that the father had been in the casino several hours at that point. I don't report these cases because they are so repetitive beings we have 2 casino's in a 20 mile raidious of eachother here. Its awful.

**Chaindrive** · August 26th, 2009, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by Zsu Zsu's Petals

Ack! I had to look it up. He lives in Phoenix now, but the town I was thinking of was Bullhead City. It's only been 12 years since I've been there.

Hah, Bullhead City is directly across the river from Laughlin.

**Athena** · August 27th, 2009, 10:16 AM

While their behavior was surely in poor taste, I think criminal charges are quite a bit much. Give them a talking to and let that be that. This is a conversation to be had between the girl's parents.