Parents accused of leaving son with autism alone outside bar while they watched the Super Bowl
The mother told a deputy she wanted the "Eagles to win."
— -- A Florida couple is accused of leaving their child with autism inside their car while they watched the Super Bowl at a bar Sunday.
Robert Valenti, 42, and his wife, Kristal Valenti, 38, face charges of child neglect, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office charging affidavit obtained by ABC News.
The affidavit states that deputies found a 6-year-old boy wandering around, unattended and unsupervised, outside a bar called the Beer House in Bunnell after an anonymous caller reported that the child's parents were inside the bar watching the Super Bowl.
Kristal Valenti told a responding deputy that she left her son in the truck because the child was underage and not allowed in the bar, saying that she "trusted" him, the affidavit states.
While talking to the deputy at the scene, Kristal Valenti spoke at length about the Eagles and tried to fist bump the officer, adding that it was the Super Bowl and she really wanted the "Eagles to win," according to the affidavit.
While Kristal Valenti spoke to the deputy, her husband eventually left the bar and joined her, according to the affidavit. Robert Valenti denied the child had ever been alone and said Kristal Valenti was with him the whole time.
Patrons at the bar said the mother went to check on her son three to four times over the course of two hours, the affidavit states.
The couple was arrested and the incident was reported to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
The couple remains in custody Tuesday morning at the Flagler County jail and their arraignment is scheduled for March 5. It is unclear if they have an attorney.
