A Texas woman has appeared before a judge after being accused of leaving her two young children alone to go on a cruise.
29-year-old Lakesha Woods Williams is accused of abandoning her two children, aged 6 and 8, to go on a cruise to Puerto Rico, leaving the minors to fend for themselves for five days.
The judge she appeared before earlier this week called her actions 'egregious' and kept her bond at $25,000.
Williams was arrested last week, shortly after she returned from her trip.
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The woman was charged with abandoning a child with intent to return after residents at her apartment building in the Memorial area of Houston called authorities worried about the kids.
According to court records, neighbours claimed this wasn't the first time Williams had left her children unsupervised.
Concerns were raised when neighbours allegedly saw Williams leave with luggage and bags on April 4, and noticed she didn't return for several days after that.
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Police officers were called to Williams' apartment for a welfare check on the two children on April 9.
"On April 9, deputies found the children alone in the apartment, and they told deputies their mother was on a cruise," the Harris County Constable Precinct 5 said in its news release via PEOPLE Magazine.
"Paramedics and CPS were called to the scene to check on the kids health and safety."
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Speaking with the police, the kids said they didn't know where their mother was. This happened after they'd been allegedly left on their own for at least five days.
The officer called to the scene found the apartment in disarray, saying it smelled of urine and had leftover food all over the place.
Deputies also found a web camera and a mobile phone that the children said their mother used to check in on them whilst she was away. When the officers contacted Williams, she was allegedly uncooperative and changed her story about where she was.
She was arrested on April 10, not long after she returned from the cruise.
After Williams appeared in court on Monday (April 15), the magistrate reviewed her bond and kept it at $25k. They also issued a protective order that prevents the woman from communicating with or being near her daughter and son.
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The children remain in the care of William's sister.
"We take these child abuse cases very seriously. Even if you're acting negligently, it's not an excuse," Asst. District Attorney Keegan Childers said on Monday (via ABC13.com).
Stefania Sarrubba