GREENFIELD — A local couple who were charged in two felony neglect cases pleaded guilty in one filing in exchange for the other being dismissed, records show.
Isaac and Carissa Abrahams of Greenfield were arrested and charged last year after police received several phone calls from neighbors who were worried about the well-being of three children they repeatedly saw wandering alone, sometimes for hours, in a Greenfield subdivision, court documents state.
The Abrahams, the children’s guardians, were twice charged — due to two separate instances, according to police — with Level 6 felony counts of neglect of a dependent.
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The first incident occurred in late September 2017; and a judge issued arrest warrants for both Abrahams about a week after prosecutors filed the first criminal case against them.
But before police had a chance to pick them up, officers got word the couple might have committed the same crime a second time. A neighbor called 911 saying they found the couple’s 2-year-old playing on the sidewalk, court documents state. The temperature was in the 40s, there was a slight breeze in the air, the boy wasn’t wearing a coat, and there was no adult to be found, the caller told dispatchers.
And it’s that incident the couple admitted fault in during a court appearance late last week, records show.
Isaac and Carissa Abrahams each pleaded guilty in the second criminal case that was filed against them, admitting to one Level 6 felony each. As a result, they’ll serve a year on probation, records show.
As part of the plea agreement they reached with prosecutors, the couple’s remaining criminal charges were dismissed, records show.
Police were called to the Abrahams home on at least three occasions prior to their arrests 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.
One neighbor told police the toddler regularly 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, 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.
During the investigations, 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.