‘No Adult in Sight': Couple Left Infants in Car While They Gambled at Casino, Police Say

The doors were unlocked, but the windows were all reportedly shut

A couple is accused of leaving their infant children alone in a car while they gambled at a Chicago-area casino over the weekend.

Alfredo Florez, 29, and Christina Pedraza, 26, were arrested and each charged with two counts of felony neglect of a dependent after officers were called to the Ameristar Casino to help two infants left alone in a vehicle in the casino's parking garage, according to the East Chicago Police Department. 

Officers arrived at the casino around 6:30 p.m. Sunday and found a 3-month-old child and a 1-year-old child alone and crying in a car, according to an affidavit released by the department Tuesday.

The doors were unlocked, the windows were shut and there was "no adult in sight," the report states.

Temperatures Monday were said to have reached into the upper-70s and low-80s in the area. That means temperatures inside the car could have reached between 104 and 109 degrees inside the vehicle within 20 minutes, according to the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. 

The report indicates the children's mother came out of the casino and told authorities she had left the kids with their father. About 10 minutes later, the father emerged, saying he had gone inside to use the bathroom.

According to police, the father smelled of alcoholic beverages and his eyes were bloodshot and watery. 

"He was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred," the report read.

But when officers reviewed said security footage from the casino, it showed both parents gambling, police said. 

Child Protective Services took custody of both children, according to authorities.

It was not immediately clear if either parent had an attorney.

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