QUEENSBURY, N.Y. -- A 3-year-old is in foster care and her mother, Helen Prince, 33, is behind bars after police say the girl wandered out of a hotel room on Route 9 in Queensbury and was found walking on a busy stretch of the road, alone and dressed only in a diaper.
“It's probably one of the worst cases we've seen in quite some time," said Warren County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Shawn Lamouree.
That's because not only was she walking on the road, but after a driver found her and police got to the scene, they said she had signs of abuse, bruising and was missing hair. When police finally found the child's mother, they said she denied that her daughter was being abused.
The Warren County Sheriff's Office is investigating what they say is one of the worst cases of child abuse and neglect they've seen in quite some time. It was uncovered after a driver spotted a toddler walking alone on Route 9 in Queensbury. Our Jessica Mokhiber has the story.
"She said that she was not aware of the injuries, but to view the child you'd find that hard to believe because they were quite visible," Lamouree said.
Their investigation revealed that the child had been physically and sexually abused, police say by Prince's fiancé's 15-year-old son. He is in jail and has been charged with assault, reckless endangerment and aggravated sexual abuse. Prince has been charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.
“Did the child's mother ask how she was doing?” our reporter asked.
“During the course of the interviews while she was in our office? No she did not,” Lamouree said.
“So she was not concerned?” asked our reporter.
“If she had concerns, she certainly did not express them to us,” replied Lamouree.
The stretch of Route 9 can be dangerous even for ordinary pedestrians, but for a 3-year-old walking alone, it could have been deadly.
"It's dangerous obviously for a 3-year-old who's unsupervised," Lamouree said.
Lamouree said the child was checked out at Glens Falls Hospital and her injuries aren't life-threatening. It's now up to Child Protective Services to figure out where she'll go.