Three young children were left outside of a casino alone and unsupervised for hours earlier this week, leading to two mothers being charged, police in Durham Region say.
Durham Regional Police said officers were called to the Pickering Casino on Durham Live Avenue at around 7:45 p.m. on Monday for a wellbeing check.
Casino security had located three children, ages two, nine, and 10, alone and unsupervised, police said.
“The children had been left in a vehicle parked in the casino lot and were found by security playing on the roadway near Church Street,” police said.
The oldest child reportedly told police that they were left alone by their mother so she could go to the casino.
“The child also said that they were given a cellphone, but the phone had since died,” police added.
After reviewing security footage, it was revealed that the children had been left alone for more than four hours, police said.
Their parents were found and charged under the Child Youth and Family Services Act.
A 39-year-old woman from Aurora, who is the mother of the 10-year-old and nine-year-old, and a 41-year-old woman from Markham, who is the mother of the two-year-old, were charged with leaving a child unattended, police said.
The Children’s Aid Society was also contacted and has since opened an investigation.