A Temecula woman accused of abandoning her 12-year-old daughter in a car without any clothes or food while she went to work was charged today with child endangerment.
Tracy Lynn Betts
Tracy Lynn Betts, 41, could face a year in jail if convicted of the misdemeanor count.
Betts, who is free on $15,000 bail, was arrested on Feb. 2 after her daughter was located by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies naked and alone in a car parked in the 29000 block of Avenida De Calzada.
Area residents called the sheriff’s department when they spotted the girl walking nude, rummaging through trash cans for food, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
An investigation revealed that Betts left the child unattended in her vehicle, without clothes or provisions, while she went to work at nearby Vail Elementary School, where she was then employed as a teacher’s aide, authorities allege.
Investigators turned the case over to the D.A.’s office, seeking charges against Betts within a couple weeks of her arrest.
However, prosecutors returned the case to the sheriff’s department for further investigation, eventually culminating in the filing of the misdemeanor allegation.
No arraignment date has been set for the defendant.
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Child endangerment is a misdemeanor? So sad this little girl had to go through that.
only a misdemeanor?? This girl is 12? Something isn’t right here..mentally disabled? At that age..there would be a fight..and definitely not dig in trash..naked?? Think it should really be looked at further….
We don’t know the reasons behind this 12 year old girl being left naked with no food in a vehicle; was it because the child refused to eat the food given to her, refused to wear the clothes given to her, refused to go to school, or perhaps mentally ill as nelly suggested?
Regardless, as a mother AND a teacher’s aide responsible for the well being of children and should have been trained in dealing with children … she should have known better and found another way to address the situation. There is no excuse for someone charged with the responsibility of children to make such a decision. She is an adult who knew better. Finding some sort of possible fault with the child is inexcusable.
Additionally, who knows how long the child had been without food? If it had been days, then digging in the trash to look for food out of desperation is feasible – not a sign of possible mental illness.
There is NO GOOD reason to leave ANYONE naked in a vehicle. California Penal Code 273a PC punishes acts of child endangerment. The crime occurs when an individual either places a child in a dangerous situation, or allows a child to be placed in a dangerous situation without taking steps to protect the child. I am surprised that they are only prosecuting it as a misdemeanor but she could still loose custody of the child – which would most likely be the best thing, since she doesn’t seem to be able to take care of her. I am not her employer, but if I was I would let her go. As a mother, I would not allow my child to be in any of the classes where this woman was an aide – she has poor judgment and I wouldn’t want her poor judgment to be inflicted on my child.