The Dothan Police Department announced the arrest of a mother after her child was found alone in unsafe conditions.
The child was found by apartment maintenance personnel responding to a water leak. The workers found a child under 12 wearing only a shirt.
Police responded to the apartment in the 600 block of South Lena Street and determined the non-verbal child living with intellectual developmental disabilities had no access to food. They said living conditions were unsanitary and the child’s sleeping area did not meet minimal acceptable standards.
“The investigation revealed that the child’s mother had left the residence the previous evening and had traveled to engage in prostitution for financial gain,” Dothan Police chief William Benny stated.
Police said at the time of the incident, the mother was out of town, but later turned herself in.
Nykera Latrese Rich, 27, of Dothan, was arrested and charged with torture/willful abuse of a child. She was placed in jail on a $15,000 bond.
Rich is considered innocent until proven guilty.
The child and a sibling were placed in the custody of the Houston County Department of Human Resources.
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