CARLISLE, Pa. — A Cumberland County woman has been charged with child endangerment, public drunkenness, and disorderly conduct after police say she left a 2-year-old child alone in her hotel room while she got drunk in the lounge.
Vanessa Acosta, 38, of Carlisle, was charged following the alleged incident at a Days Inn on Harrisburg Pike, according to Middlesex Township Police.
Police say an employee at the lounge called 911 after Acosta, who had earlier been asked to leave the bar, tried to force her way back inside.
Responding officers first encountered Acosta as she exited a men's bathroom at the hotel at about 1:30 a.m.
Police say she was visibly intoxicated and needed to lean on the wall to prevent her from falling to the ground.
Acosta told police she was staying at the hotel in a room with the 2-year-old boy and his sister, but when police escorted her back to the room there was only the 2-year-old boy present.
Police say the child was found in a dirty diaper and displayed signs that he'd been crying. There was no food or drink appropriate for a 2-year-old child visible in the room, according to police.
Police say they looked for another child, but hotel staff reported that Acosta had only been seen with the boy, and no one else was registered in the room.
The child was turned over to Cumberland Youth Services, and Acosta was taken into custody, according to police.
While being transported to Central Booking for arraignment, Acosta allegedly began kicking at the windows of the police vehicle and spat in the direction of arresting officers, according to the criminal complaint affidavit.
