The discovery of a youngster under the age of 10 left to live alone in a home in south Jones County resulted in the arrests of the individuals who should have been taking care of the child.
Silvano Gerardo Espinoza, 39, and Amy Crane, 36, were arrested June 9 and charged with cruelty to children in first degree, deprivation of sustenance. Both were being held under an $85,000 bond.
Espinoza was in Jones County Superior Court July 21 seeking a reduction in his bond.
Crane’s bond had previously been reduced to $25,000, and she was released July 8. She was alleged to be the child’s stepmother.
Espinoza was represented in the bond hearing by defense attorney John Howe. Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore prosecuted the case. Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradley presided over the hearing.
Fiore told the court Espinoza was the father of the child who was found walking on the road in the neighborhood of New Clinton Road. She said the child told officers that the parents had left her living alone for months.
The prosecutor said the child was interviewed by the Crescent House Child Advocacy Center and repeated the story. She said investigators found the child’s parents living on the other side of Macon.
Fiore said the state was opposed to the reduction of bond and that the case would be presented to a grand jury Aug. 1.
Howe told the court that it was reasonable to ask for reduction of his client’s bond to $25,000 because of the reduction of bond for his codefendant. The attorney said Espinoza has ties to extended family in the Macon area and he is the primary caretaker for his family.
Howe said Espinoza is fine with no contact.
The prosecutor reiterated that the state objected to the bond reduction but understood that the facts in the case were the same as his codefendant. She argued that Espinoza has a criminal history, and the $85,000 bond amount was reasonable.
Bradley said he would reduce the bond but not to $25,000. The judge reduced the bond to $60,000 and ordered no contact with any child under the age of 18.
Investigation
Jones County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Kenny Gleaton said he was called to investigate the case when the child was found walking along Bethune Downs Court March 31.
“The complainant who found the child said something was awry,” Gleaton said.
The investigator said, according to the complainant, the child was trying to get back to the Methodist Children’s Home. He said, when responding deputies asked where the parents were, the child reported to living alone in an apartment on New Clinton Road.
Gleaton said deputies contacted the Department of Family and Children Services and found out Espinoza was the child’s father. He said it was determined that Espinoza placed the child in the home because of behavior issues between the child and other children in the home.
The investigator said it was unclear how long the child had been living alone, but it had been several weeks. The child had not been attending school. He said the length of time between the March 31 discovery of the child and the June 9 arrest of the parents was due to the investigation of the case and DFCS hearings.
Gleaton said the child had been immediately taken into care by DFCS. He said other children in the defendants’ home were also under the care of DFCS.
“We were obviously concerned the child was not provided food and care,” he said.
The investigator said the child did not have a phone, but there was a live feed camera in the apartment. He said the parents would drop off supplies that amounted to snacks.
Gleaton said the child’s mother was not in the picture.
“The child had previously lived at the Methodist Children’s Home, but Espinoza had signed her out,” he said.
