OCALA, Fla. – Police and firefighters responded to a scene Wednesday in southwest Ocala where officers said a naked, bruised and bloodied toddler was found alone in a roadway, according to the Ocala Police Department.
According to a Facebook post Thursday by Ocala police, a U.S. Postal Service worker found and reported the unsupervised toddler to first responders around 11:15 a.m. Ocala Fire Rescue and police were dispatched and an officer noted upon their arrival, a witness had since given the child a shirt to wear.
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The toddler, who was covered in sand, had several scratches on their body, a bruise near their right eye and a bloody nose, police said. Firefighters provided care to the child until Marion County Fire Rescue arrived to take the toddler to the hospital, the post said.
Two officers reportedly set out to check residences in the area, eventually approaching a house with dirty diapers outside, a stroller on the porch and two doors left open, suspecting it to be the child’s home. After door knocking and multiple callouts elicited no response from inside, the officers opted to enter the residence for a well-being check, police said. The toddler’s parents and an infant child were found asleep, according to the post.
The parents reportedly explained they had left their child in the care of Qualinda Robinson, 33, a woman who lives with them yet wasn’t home at the time. Officers called Robinson back to the scene, where she stated she had informed the child’s mother earlier that morning of her plans to go to the store, police said.
Robinson was booked at the Marion County jail and faces a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm. Records show she has since bonded out.
No other details were shared.
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