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Mom Cited For Miley Misdemeanor
A mother was recently cited for misdemeanor child neglect after dropping her 9-year-old daughter off alone at a
Leslie Martinez could reportedly afford only one ticket to the Oct. 13 show, so she walked her daughter to the entrance then drove with her husband and three other children to check into Council Bluffs Casino Hotel where the family had reservations for the evening.
Martinez told the Omaha World-Herald she had no reservations about leaving her daughter unattended during the show and thought it “was something a lot of people do.”
“We have been there four or five times, most recently to see the Jonas Brothers in July,” she said. “She had money, she had all the info and she knew how to get a hold of me.”
The mother claimed event staff even told her at the door that an usher would help the girl find her way to her seat.
“She was so excited,” Martinez said. “She wasn’t scared. I wouldn’t have let her go if she seemed afraid.”
The girl found her seat and borrowed a cell phone from a nearby adult to call her mom and tell her she was OK, according to the paper. However, parents seated in the section took notice that the girl was alone and alerted security.
According to police reports obtained by the World-Herald, the girl told officers she was scared and didn’t know where she would be picked up following the show.
Sgt. Meg Fricke told the paper that a Qwest employee even took the girl to the concession stand to buy snacks.
“The Qwest Center staff really went above and beyond what they’re supposed to do,” Fricke said. “They took care of the situation right away even though that’s not their job.”
Martinez was contacted by police and reportedly arrived about an hour later to pick up her daughter, claiming she was detoured and got lost on the way back to the venue.
“I was crying and so worried with everything that was going on, and it took me forever to get there,” she told the paper. An exit to downtown Omaha from Interstate 29 was closed because of construction.
“I thought I was doing something good and fun for my daughter,” she added. “It turns out I’m the bad person.”
Doug Parrott, who spoke on behalf of the venue, told Pollstar he could not confirm the mom’s conversation with the event staffer nor that the daughter was helped to her seat by an usher, but he did verify that the girl saw the full performance.