Crystal Viera, 28, of San Benito, was arrested after she allegedly admitted to leaving her 8-year-old son alone, who ran away to a neighbor’s house, opened the refrigerator and began to eat because he was hungry, reported in a statement.
The incident occurred on June 8, when agents went to a house on Petras highway, San Benito, out of concern for the well-being of an 8-year-old boy. Upon his arrival, officers spoke to people who said the boy, whom they don’t know, entered his residence, opened the refrigerator, and began eating his food. When the complainants contacted the boy, he had food in his hands and said that he was “hungry.”
On initial observations the child was described as scrawny, appeared very weak and malnourished.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the individuals took the boy back to his residence and attempted to contact his mother, but she was not home. After some time her mother arrived with her boyfriend.
In the initial interview with the agents, the mother admitted to leaving the child alone and unsupervised. The case was immediately reported to Child Protective Services and the child was removed from the home.
An investigation was launched by the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division and it was determined that the child was malnourished, physically neglected and sufficient evidence was gathered to obtain a warrant for his arrest on the charge of abandonment/endangerment of a child with imminent bodily injury. The woman was arrested on June 20.
