A Connecticut mom has been arrested after allegedly leaving her two young children alone for a weekend while she visited her boyfriend in Florida.
Specifically, 36-year-old Kerry Lyn Caviasca of Watertown, Connecticut has been accused of leaving her kids, aged nine and 11, for two days in mid-November. She was arrested Saturday on two counts each of risk of injury to a minor and second-degree reckless endangerment, reported the Hartford Courant.
Unlike some states, Connecticut does not have a law determining the age at which a child can be left home alone. Rather, the issue is a "judgment call" that can vary from family to family.
Regardless, leaving a child or children unsupervised for extended periods of time can result in child endangerment or related charges.
The alleged incident involving Caviasca was uncovered by her ex-husband, when he became concerned after not being able to reach the children by phone between November 20-22. The kids had not attended school on November 22, a Monday, and were marked as having unexcused absences.
The former spouse said that, when asked later, the children denied being left alone. However, he felt they were attempting to protect their mother.
In the month that followed, Caviasca's ex-husband gained access to messages from that weekend on a cell phone belonging to one of the children. These messages reportedly confirmed his suspicions that they had been left alone.
Caviasca's arrest warrant, released Thursday, detailed communication between the suspect and her children during the three-day period.
Included in her messages were instructions for the children to remain in the basement, said the warrant. Additionally, when one of the kids asked what they should have for dinner, she reportedly told them to "just eat candy."
"I'm sorry...whatever is downstairs...there's so much downstairs...I'll make it up to you," she added in the following messages.
The children had reportedly been provided with snacks and food delivered via Uber Eats.
When Caviasca's ex-husband contacted the police on December 17, he had been granted emergency temporary custody by Family Court. Officers accompanied him to Caviasca's home, where they confronted her about the weekend in November.
While she did admit she spent the weekend in Florida, she said her brother had been watching the children while she was away. The children, however, told officers that no one else had been present.
Police also spoke to Caviasca's brother, who said he "did not remember" the weekend and "did not wish to be involved." Authorities then contacted his employer, the U.S. Postal Service, who confirmed, per his timesheets, that he had been working during the three days in question.
Employed as a public school teacher in Waterbury, Caviasca has been put on leave by the district as they investigate the incident.
Currently, Caviasca has been released and is due back in court later this month.
Newsweek reached out to the Watertown Police Department for comment.
