According to a statement released by the Pinal Country Sheriff’s Office, an Arizona couple was arrested on July 28 after abandoning their 2-year-old son to go play Pokémon Go.
The app, which is a virtual-reality type game for hunting Pokémon, requires users to travel around the area in order to play. Brent and Brianne Daley, who claimed they went out to get gas, were absent for up to 90 minutes, stopping at parks and shopping malls while their son was sleeping. However, the police were called when neighbors spotted the toddler outside the house, screaming, crying, and wearing nothing but a T-shirt and dirty diaper.
Sheriff Paul Babeu is all too familiar with the consequences of civilians getting too wrapped up in the game, but this was the worst offense yet.
“Our agency and many other law enforcement agencies have been warning people about personal safety while playing this interactive Smartphone game, but we never would have imagined that parents would abandoned a child to play Pokémon Go,” he said in a statement. “This goes beyond comprehension.”
Brent and Brianne Daley were arrested for child neglect and endangerment. The state Department of Child Services took custody of their son.
Credit: Cosmopolitan
