Jun 3, 2009 7:52 pm US/Eastern
Long Island Mothers Busted Behaving Badly
One Allegedly Left Small Kids Home Alone For 9 Hours; The Other Accused Of Locking Children In Car
HOLBROOK, N.Y. (CBS) ―
No one said being a mother is easy.
But for two local mothers it's proved difficult and possibly even criminal.
Both moms are accused of leaving their children alone -- one in a car, the other at home.
Upstairs tenants Michelle and her family called 9/11 when they discovered the little children had been home alone all night.
"It's not a good thing," she said. "We did the best we could by calling the cops. They were good kids, just feel bad for them."
"When I got there the kids were riding their bikes in the street -- no helmets -- the youngest in the stroller needed a diaper change," Suffolk County Police Sgt. Kevin Byrne added.
The four boys, ages 2-8, were hungry, and disheveled, when their 38-year-old Selden mother, Robin Reese, eventually returned home to waiting police.
"First she said she was getting gas, and then she said she was getting milk … yeah, for nine hours," Sgt. Byrne said.
What was she thinking? Reese's Wayside Lane neighbors demanded to know.
"To leave them home alone … there could have been a fire," June Duffy said.
"My son is on the bus with those kids. They're always running ragged, parents yelling at each other," John McGuinness said.
In fact, the husband was recently jailed.
The talk here is of stress, bad judgment and comparing Reese to the other Suffolk County mom, Lynn Hoenig, who was arrested Tuesday night for leaving her twin toddlers alone -- one with down syndrome -- locked in a running SUV for 45 minutes while she shopped in a Holtsville Costco.
"Mother must have been under a lot of stress … no one else to turn to," neighbor Lois Melo said.
"Mother must be overwhelmed, living in a tight spot," added neighbor Robert Coniglio said.
The mothers in both cases face the prospect of losing their children because Child Protective Services is now involved – with orders of protection signed for Reese to stay away from her four young sons.
Both mothers pleaded not guilty. Hoenig was released on bail. Reese is being held on $50,000 bond. The Suffolk County district attorney's investigation is ongoing.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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