Child Neglect

Former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, who is due to be inducted in the team's Ring of Honor late next month, was arrested and charged with child abandonment Tuesday night. Lewis, 32, was booked in the Clayton County (Ga.) jail just before 11 p.m. Tuesday, and released shortly after midnight Wednesday, according to the report. Lewis, who retired in 2009 after playing nine seasons in the NFL, including six in Baltimore, has had no contact with his son for more than a year, according to court documents.

A Severn mother who, despite a poison center's admonition to get her son to a hospital immediately, waited until her child began having a seizure from sipping his father's methadone, was placed on three years' probation Friday. Kimberly Brooks, 28, feared a huge hospital bill and so waited to see if the condition of her five-year-old son, who had vomited, would improve - a decision that nearly cost the child his life last Sept. 4, Anne Arundel County prosecutor Sandra Howell told Circuit Court Judge Paul A. Hackner.

A Sykesville man faces child neglect and other crimina charges after he allegedly gave his 4-year-old son a stolen candy bar and left the boy alone in a car at an Eldersburg gas station.The suspect, who state police identified as Jerome Mark Horner, 32, of the 6100 block of Timdan Court, was arrested when he returned to the car 3 1/2 hours later, police reported.The incident prompted state police Tfc. L. A. Lucas to charge Mr. Horner with child neglect, possession of PCP, resisting arrest and theft, according to court papers filed late Monday in District Court in Westminster.

A Severn father was found guilty of child neglect on Wednesday, but was acquitted of the most serious charge facing him - child abuse - in a case that stemmed from his 5-year-old son losing consciousness after drinking methadone. In a bench trial, Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Paul A. Hackner found Paul K. Brooks Sr., 28, guilty of seven charges, including drug possession, stemming from the September 2012 incident. Hackner said Brooks should have acted faster to get the child medical help when he began to get sick - but he noted that Brooks ultimately made the 911 call, according to a recording of the verdict.

Gov. Martin O'Malley is joining Baltimore officials in calling for tougher penalties for gun crimes and in seeking to criminalize child neglect. In his legislative agenda released Monday, O'Malley said he is also pursuing pension reform, environmental protection and economic development during the 2011 General Assembly session. The former Baltimore mayor, a Democrat, wants to reduce the number of credits a person convicted of a gun crime can receive for good behavior in prison.

Anyone who intentionally withholds food from an elderly or disabled person in their care, or leaves them unprotected from the elements, can be prosecuted under Maryland law for neglect of a vulnerable adult. A pet owner who shirks responsibility for feeding and caring for an animal can likewise be hauled into court on criminal charges. But a parent who deliberately and repeatedly neglects the basic physical needs of his or her child faces no such threat of penalty — because Maryland is the only state in the union in which child neglect is not a crime.

County police arrested a Brooklyn Park woman Tuesday on child neglect charges after an officer said she found the woman sprawled on her bathroom floor with a whiskey bottle in her hand. Police said she had left four children alone for more than 10 hours.Two of the woman's sons, 12 and 9, called police from a convenience store near their home in the 4000 block of Belle Grove Road because their parents were fighting, police said.Officer Keith J. Light met the boys at the 7-Eleven at Ritchie Highway and Belle Grove Road shortly after 8:30 p.m. and returned with them to the house.

Police investigating a complaint of child neglect entered a rowhouse in Southeast Baltimore last night and discovered 210 flourishing marijuana plants.A female resident of the house in the 2000 block of Bank St. in Upper Fells Point was arrested, and her 19-month-old daughter was turned over to the child's grandmother, police said.Police were seeking the woman's live-in boyfriend.Lt. George L. Klein Jr. of the Southeastern District said someone called police about 4: 15 p.m. and said a toddler was wandering the street shoeless.

A Severn father was found guilty of child neglect on Wednesday, but was acquitted of the most serious charge facing him - child abuse - in a case that stemmed from his 5-year-old son losing consciousness after drinking methadone. In a bench trial, Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Paul A. Hackner found Paul K. Brooks Sr., 28, guilty of seven charges, including drug possession, stemming from the September 2012 incident. Hackner said Brooks should have acted faster to get the child medical help when he began to get sick - but he noted that Brooks ultimately made the 911 call, according to a recording of the verdict.

A Severn mother who, despite a poison center's admonition to get her son to a hospital immediately, waited until her child began having a seizure from sipping his father's methadone, was placed on three years' probation Friday. Kimberly Brooks, 28, feared a huge hospital bill and so waited to see if the condition of her five-year-old son, who had vomited, would improve - a decision that nearly cost the child his life last Sept. 4, Anne Arundel County prosecutor Sandra Howell told Circuit Court Judge Paul A. Hackner.

A Severn couple already facing drug and weapons charges after rescue workers and police were called to their house for a report that their child accidentally took methadone are now also under indictment on child abuse and neglect counts. Paul Kristopher Brooks Sr., and his wife, Kimberly Brooks, both 28, are facing 12-count indictments, that include child abuse, firearms and drug charges, a spokeswoman for Anne Arundel County prosecutors said Friday. All charges stem from an incident Sept.

Former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, who is due to be inducted in the team's Ring of Honor late next month, was arrested and charged with child abandonment Tuesday night. Lewis, 32, was booked in the Clayton County (Ga.) jail just before 11 p.m. Tuesday, and released shortly after midnight Wednesday, according to the report. Lewis, who retired in 2009 after playing nine seasons in the NFL, including six in Baltimore, has had no contact with his son for more than a year, according to court documents.

High hurdles remain for the most ambitious pieces of Gov. Martin O'Malley's legislative agenda, setting up a frantic sprint in the final week of the 2011 General Assembly session if the Democrat hopes to score major victories in the first year of his second term. It has been more than two months since O'Malley rolled out his signature proposals, including legislation to limit septic systems, build an offshore wind farm and create a $100 million investment fund, to a legislature controlled by his party.

Anyone who intentionally withholds food from an elderly or disabled person in their care, or leaves them unprotected from the elements, can be prosecuted under Maryland law for neglect of a vulnerable adult. A pet owner who shirks responsibility for feeding and caring for an animal can likewise be hauled into court on criminal charges. But a parent who deliberately and repeatedly neglects the basic physical needs of his or her child faces no such threat of penalty — because Maryland is the only state in the union in which child neglect is not a crime.

It took me 20 years, after moving here, to say "Maryland" when people asked me where I was from. I was a proud New Yorker, with a long and hard adjustment to life in the Maryland suburbs. But I stayed — long enough to become a "former New Yorker," long enough to call Maryland my permanent home. Today, I am ashamed to be a Marylander. Gov. Martin O'Malley proudly includes on his legislative agenda an item to criminalize child neglect. Bravo, Martin O'Malley, many will say. Indeed, every state should, in fact must , have such a statute.

Gov. Martin O'Malley is joining Baltimore officials in calling for tougher penalties for gun crimes and in seeking to criminalize child neglect. In his legislative agenda released Monday, O'Malley said he is also pursuing pension reform, environmental protection and economic development during the 2011 General Assembly session. The former Baltimore mayor, a Democrat, wants to reduce the number of credits a person convicted of a gun crime can receive for good behavior in prison.

It took me 20 years, after moving here, to say "Maryland" when people asked me where I was from. I was a proud New Yorker, with a long and hard adjustment to life in the Maryland suburbs. But I stayed — long enough to become a "former New Yorker," long enough to call Maryland my permanent home. Today, I am ashamed to be a Marylander. Gov. Martin O'Malley proudly includes on his legislative agenda an item to criminalize child neglect. Bravo, Martin O'Malley, many will say. Indeed, every state should, in fact must , have such a statute.

An Ellicott City woman who volunteers as president of a church school parents' association faces child-neglect charges after police allegedly found her at a nursery school while her 3-month-old infant slept unattended at home.Howard County police said they arrested Beth Bernhart Webb, 36, of the 8300 block of Kings Heights Road, Tuesday after the local Child Protective Services office received an anonymous tip that the infant had been left alone.When two officers went to the house shortly after 10:15 a.m., they got no response when they knocked on the door.

No matter how deteriorated the family situation, a child removed from home for abuse or neglect will nearly always tell the courts he wants to return home. A court appointed special advocate or CASA, a trained volunteer, can provide a judge an informed, clear picture of that home situation. "We speak for the child," said Joan T. McGill, 63, a CASA volunteer for 10 years. "We do the research and back it up. We are there for the child and can help others make a decision that is in the child's best interest.

When 2-year-old Bryanna Harris was found dead two years ago of a methadone overdose, the outcry was as much against the state child protective services division, which had left Bryanna in the care of an irresponsible parent, as against her drug-addicted mom. To its credit, the agency launched an investigation of what went wrong and made its report public. The head of Baltimore's Department of Social Services resigned, and two caseworkers were later fired; another supervisor was disciplined.