'No known return date': Dad left 8-year-old alone in 'small garage' while he traveled to Florida for a week, sheriff says

A 34-year-old begetter successful West Virginia has been arrested for allegedly leaving his 8-year-old lad alone and unsupervised successful his store without food, water, oregon a bath for an full week portion helium took a travel to Florida.

Juan Jose Benitez-Chacon, besides known arsenic Jose Juan Benitez Chacon, was taken into custody connected Monday and charged with 1 number of gross neglect of a kid creating a important hazard of decease oregon superior bodily injury, tribunal records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

A lawman with the Harrison County Sheriff's Office responded to Benitez-Chacon's location connected Aug. 15 aft receiving a extremity that the lad had been surviving unsocial successful the garage, Clarksburg, West Virginia, NBC affiliate WBOY reported. Upon arriving astatine the address, the lawman said helium located the lad wrong a "small garage" connected the property.

Authorities said the kid had been "without entree to food, water, bathroom, aesculapian assistance oregon big supervision portion wrong of the garage."

When speaking with the victim, authorities reportedly said they learned that his father, Benitez-Chacon, had near him determination portion helium was retired of the state.

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"When we spoke with the kid and done the probe it was determined that helium was unsocial for astir 1 week portion his begetter is successful Florida with nary known instrumentality date," the lawman wrote, according to a report from West Virginia News, which cited a probable origin affidavit for an apprehension warrant.

While the lad was near unattended, investigators said others from the vicinity did supply him with a constricted magnitude of help.

"The kid did person assistance from neighbors passim the time but did not person immoderate assistance during the nighttime hours and was not successful show oregon audible scope during the nighttime hours of big assistance," the affidavit reportedly says.

In tribunal documents obtained by Weston, West Virginia, CBS affiliate WDTV, authorities said the determination to permission the lad successful the store unsocial and without resources — peculiarly successful lawsuit determination was an exigency — was an "extremely unsafe" concern for the child.

Additionally, WVNews reported that Benitiez-Chacon successful 2023 was charged with felony kid neglect aft being accused of leaving his then-6-year-old kid unsupervised portion helium went retired to portion intoxicant for respective hours. He reportedly pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of misdemeanor kid neglect successful that lawsuit and was subsequently sentenced to 1 twelvemonth of unsupervised probation.

Benitez-Chacon is presently being held successful the North Central Regional Jail connected a $100,000 bond, records show. He appeared successful tribunal connected Monday, wherever helium pleaded not blameworthy to the latest charge. It was not instantly wide erstwhile Benitez-Chacon was scheduled to look successful tribunal again.