A 40-year-old Innisfil woman will face child abandonment charges in July after she allegedly left four children in a minivan while she went to an appointment in downtown Barrie.
Barrie police say a city bylaw officer was checking vehicles for parking infractions Thursday morning when he noticed a minivan with four young children left unattended inside.
The officer could not locate an adult near the minivan, but police say a movie was playing inside for the children to watch and the doors were left unlocked with the keys in the ignition.
Police say the children in the van were an 11-month-old boy, along with girls aged 2, 3, and 9, all from Innisfil.
Investigators say the adult caregiver was located nearby about an hour later and allegedly explained that the nine-year-old girl was looking after the other children while she went to a nearby appointment.
Police contacted all of the children's parents and the Children's Aid Society of Simcoe County. The woman will face five charges of child abandonment.
