“Distracted” by the slot machines, father leaves two-year-old in a car

 A two-year-old boy was left in a car for an hour, while his father was playing on the slot machines; fortunately, it was not a hot day. The episode happened in Gallarate, and demonstrates, once again, that some compulsive gamblers have become so addicted that they even put their children at risk.

The alarm was given on Monday afternoon, near the amusement arcade in Via Foscolo; the boy’s crying attracted the attention of passers-by; as his parents were untraceable, after a few minutes, the crowd that had gathered around the car decided to call the police. The policemen from the local police station, run by Deputy Police Superintendent Gianluca Dalfino, arrived immediately, and were about to break a window to free the boy, when his father suddenly arrived.

“I didn’t realise so much time had passed,” the man, aged 35, said. The boy, aged two and a half, had remained locked in the car for about an hour, but he was well. On the other hand, his father was charged with abandonment of a minor and released on bail.