A Morgantown woman was arrested for gross child neglect Monday after Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputies were sent to perform a welfare check at a residence on Ann Marie Drive near Pierpont Road.
The welfare check followed a call from the father of a child living in the home. The father said he was in fear for his daughter’s safety while the girl was with staying with her mother, Charlsie Ryan Allen, 37, of Morgantown.
Once on scene, Deputies L. Thompson and N. Rose knocked on the front door of the residence and were greeted by a female child, according to the criminal complaint.
When the deputies asked the girl to speak with her mother, they reported hearing an adult female say to the child, “No, shut the door.”
Deputies said the child motioned and asked them to enter the residence, but Allen refused.
The deputies told Allen they were there for a welfare check and only needed to physically see her, but she still refused.
According to the complaint, deputies believed Allen to be intoxicated because she was having difficulty understanding, her speech was slowed and slurred and she was making statements that did not make sense.
The deputies warned Allen that if she did not cooperate with the welfare check they would be forced to call Child Protective Services (CPS). At that point she allegedly “shut the door in deputies’ faces.”
CPS was called and arrived on scene, the complaint said. Allen then stepped outside with the child and attempted to leave in a vehicle. She refused to cooperate with CPS and would not answer their questions.
Deputies reported Allen “was observed to have watery, bloodshot eyes accompanied by a blank or confused stare” and also smelled of alcohol.
Allen was arrested for gross child neglect and was arraigned Tuesday in Monongalia County Magistrate Court. She is currently being held at North Central Regional Jail on a $5,000 bond.
According to the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department the child was placed in the custody of her father.
