GREENFIELD — Concerned neighbors called police several times this year, worried about the well-being of three children they repeatedly saw wandering alone, sometimes for hours, in a Greenfield subdivision, court documents state.
Now the local couple tasked with caring for those children faces felony charges, accusing them of repeatedly putting the kids in danger, court documents state.
Isaac Abraham, 29, and his 30-year-old wife, Carissa Abraham, were arrested this week after prosecutors filed a Level 6 felony count of neglect of a dependent against each of them.
Records show police were called to the Abrahams’ Greenfield home on at least three occasions in recent months on reports of children being left outside alone for hours at time, according to court documents. At times, the children sought help from neighbors, who would bang on the couple’s door repeatedly until someone came to answer.
Detectives first visited the Abrahams’ home in mid-August after neighbors called the Indiana Department of Child Services hotline.
One caller said a toddler found a way out of the Abrahams’ unlocked front door while the couple was sleeping. He was outside alone for extended periods of time, sometimes wandering in the street, according to court documents.
Other times, the toddler’s two older sisters would be locked out of the house for hours after school, their knocks on the couple’s front door going unanswered, the caller said, court documents state. Neighbors took to bringing the girls in, offering them food and help with homework until the Abrahams let the children inside, court documents state.
The caller said on one occasion, the children were locked out of the house for more than two hours without the couple noticing or trying to find them, court documents state.
Investigators questioned Isaac and Carissa Abraham in August after the call to the child neglect hotline was received “due to all of the complaints of (the children) being out in the neighborhood,” court documents state.
Isaac Abraham told police he worked late into the night and slept throughout the day. He said Carissa Abraham does not work and stays at home to watch the children, though she often falls asleep in the middle of the day as well, court documents state.
Police told the Abrahams they need to get a lock for the door that is high enough the toddler can’t reach it but could still give the girls access to the house when they got home from school, court documents state.
Police were called to the couple’s house again in late September after the toddler was found wandering the subdivision alone, court documents state. Neighbors found the little boy and didn’t know how long he’d been outside alone. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt in 50-degree weather; his skin was cool to the touch, police said.
Recognizing the little boy from their prior visits, officers went to the Abrahams’ home. It took about 10 minutes for Isaac and Carissa Abraham to come to the front door after officers knocked and shouted inside, court documents state.
The couple’s home was searched, and officers found none of the security measures they had suggested, court documents state. Because of this, they asked that criminal charges be filed against the couple.
The Level 6 felony charge each faces carries a maximum penalty of 2.5 years in prison.