Dirty and disheveled

While kids are well known for loving fast food, one mother has come under criticism for leaving her 9-year old son in a McDonald’s so she could gamble at a local casino.

When police caught up with her and asked her why she had left the boy there, she answered because “he drives me crazy.”

The 34-year-old had dropped the boy off at a McDonalds in Phoenix, Arizona, last week as it approached 8.30pm in the evening. Staff members got worried when no one came to claim the youngster for several hours and called the police over his “dirty and disheveled” appearance. Still, the police report showed that the staff went out of its way to help him, offering a coloring book, ice cream, and sweet treats such as cookies.

“She always comes back”

The boy didn’t seem upset and he later told police officer Brandon Sheffert of the Peoria Police Department, “She always comes back.”

The mother in question was 34-year old Stacy Rupp, who left her son to visit the Desert Diamond Casino, about a mile from the McDonald’s. It was her second visit of the day. She arrived back at the fast food joint just as the police arrived and tried to pretend that she was visiting a grocery store that is in the same shopping district as the restaurant.

When questioned by the police, she admitted that she “messed up” and visited the Diamond Casino but added that the child “drives me crazy and steals my money.” She was then arrested and charged with endangering the health of a child and child abuse. The police report said that she has other children.

No means of contact

When the case was heard in court earlier this week, Rupp was found to not have provided the boy with any means of communication, such as a mobile phone, so that he could contact her in case of an emergency.

While the judge was considering a no-contact order, Rupp broke down and said tearfully, “That’s going to be detrimental to my son, he’s a mama’s boy.” The judge later decided against it.

The next hearing of the case is scheduled for July.

According to AZ Family, a neighbor asked about the family’s predicament said, “It doesn’t surprise me at all” and that the 9-year old had been seen running around in his underwear.