SPRING HILL, Fla. -- A Florida mother was arrested on Wednesday after deputies say she left her 3-year-old son home alone while she went out drinking.
Hernando County deputies responded a home in Spring Hill after receiving a tip that a child was at the home without supervision. Deputies attempted to contact the 3-year-old boy around 2 a.m. on Wednesday.
When deputies arrived they saw Kristen Broker, 27, being dropped off at the home. The deputy asked Broker if she knew the child. Broker told the deputy that he was her son. The deputy then asked if she knew whether or not the child was in the home alone.
Deputies say that Broker told them that she knew the child was home alone. She told them that he was sleeping inside.
Deputies found the young boy awake inside the home. He was in a queen sized bed with no guardrails, according to HCSO.
"[The boy] appeared to be scared as to where his mother was," HCSO wrote in a press release.
Deputies say that the only other adult who lives at the home was Broker's boyfriend, who was at work.
Broker told deputies that she was at a local bar. Deputies say she appeared to be extremely intoxicated. She told deputies that she had been drinking since 1 p.m. on Tuesday, according to HCSO.
Broker said she had consumed some rum and cokes and some beers, according to HCSO. Deputies say that she claimed she was only gone for "30 minutes," and that her son was asleep when she left.
The child was clearly awake when deputies arrived at the home.
Deputies say that Broker appeared almost
Broker didn't appear to think it was an issue to leave her child home for any amount of time, according to the arrest affidavit.
Broker was arrested on one count of child neglect, booked into the Hernando County Jail under a $2,000 bond. The child was turned over to the father's care.
Mary Stringini is a digital reporter for ABC Action News. Follow her on Twitter @MaryWFTS.
