This week, a 33-year-old Arkansas mother was jailed for forcing her 7-year-old son to walk eight miles to elementary school after he missed the bus, saying it was “not her problem.”
Law&Crime records say Amber Nicole Thompson was arrested on Tuesday for first-degree endangering a child and second-degree domestic battery.
ABC and NBC station KAIT reported that Craighead County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call at Craighead 457 Road on April 2 about a 7-year-old boy wandering alone on Craighead 476 Road in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The caller told deputies he operated a farm shop and was feeding his horse when the child approached.
The boy told the man he was walking to Valley View Elementary after missing the bus, Jonesboro Right Now reported. The toddler was located seven kilometers from the school.
Deputies said the youngster told them he was forced to go to bed without eating dinner the night before due to difficulties. He warned that missing school would get him in trouble again.
His 2- and 3-year-old siblings lived with him, the child stated.
JRN stated that deputies returned the boy to his home by opening the unlocked front door after no answer to knocking. Thompson was asleep in one of the bedrooms when deputies searched the property.
She allegedly told deputies the boy had not fed the night before because he was in trouble. She also said she ordered her son last night to set an alarm to wake up in time for the bus and that “it was not her problem” if he had to walk to the school, which was 71/2 miles from their home.
Thompson was taken to the Craighead County Detention Center while deputies accompanied the 7-year-old. The Arkansas Department of Human Services caseworkers arrived shortly after to speak with Thompson’s three children.
JRN said that authorities found “numerous bruises” on the 3-year-old’s face, back, butt, and limbs while speaking with the kids. The children’s father said he punished the 3-year-old for lying a few days previously but that his elder brother certainly caused the other bruises.
Jail records show Thompson was released Wednesday after paying $50,000 bond. She will be arraigned in Craighead County Circuit Court on May 24.