Daytona Beach, FL – A father was arrested after his two children were found alone and playing naked outside of their home in Daytona Beach.
On July 31, police responded to a call from a concerned neighbor about two young children playing naked and alone in their shared front yard at 1144 Hillcrest Dr. in Daytona Beach. The neighbor, who lives on the left side of the divided apartment building, witnessed the other tenant’s 4-year old daughter playing outside in her underwear with her 2-year-old naked brother.
The neighbor told police that the children appeared to be alone. The door of the apartment was open and the neighbor yelled for the children’s father, Umar Mainagge, 29, but there was no response. The neighbor watched the children for a while, expecting Mainagge to return home, but called the police when he was still not there after an hour.
When police arrived, the two children were inside the house being supervised by the neighbor who was just outside the front door. Police officers said that they found feces on the floor and couch of the home and that the children were paying with a phone covered in feces. Police found the sink covered in old food and dirt and found moldy food inside the refrigerator.
An officer found diapers and clothes and dressed the children and brought them out to his patrol car while he tried to contact a parent. DCF has an open case with the family and the mother of the children was contacted. She came to the scene and told police that she had no idea that the children were alone.
The mother is separated from Mainagge and does not live at the residence. She said that she dropped off her children for the weekend on July 28 and that she spoke to Mainagge an hour before the police spoke to her. According to police, this time frame may not be correct since they had been at the scene for an hour and the neighbor had been watching the children for an hour before that.
The mother said that when she spoke to Mainagge that day, he handed the phone to the children to let her speak with them. She maintained that she did not know Mainagge was going to leave them alone and that she was going to pick them up that day or she was going to have Mainagge drop them off since she works weekends.
Police believe that the children were left for a few hours, but they are not exactly sure how long. The kids did not have any injuries and were released into the custody of their mother. Police were not able to locate or talk to Mainagge that day.
On August 10, Mainagge was booked into the Volusia County Jail. He was charged with two counts of child neglect and is being held at the jail.
(Mainagge's mugshot courtesy of Volusia County Corrections)
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