on 04-07-2009 02:44

By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET - A 21-year-old mother is facing child neglect charges after apparently leaving her two young children alone for over four hours in her second floor apartment on West Avenue on Friday afternoon.

Alcinda Lopes, of 270 West Ave., 2nd, Pawtucket, was arrested after questioning by police late Friday afternoon on two counts of cruelty to or neglect of a child.
According to Pawtucket Police, a concerned neighbor had alerted them to the situation at around 10:50 a.m. on Friday. When police arrived at the apartment, they found a five-year-old girl and one-year-old boy who had been left unattended.
Police said the children appeared unkempt and the one-year-old was wearing a diaper that was so sodden and soiled that it appeared to have not been changed for period of over several hours.  
The children were taken to a local hospital for an evaluation and were later taken into custody by the Department of Children, Youth and Families.
Police Major Arthur Martins said that police were later able to contact the mother and they had her come to the police station, where she was later arrested. She was arraigned on the charges over the weekend by a bail commissioner, he added.