Mom Who Left Kids Alone While She Went to Europe May Avoid Prison

JOHNSTON, IA — An Iowa mom who abandoned her four young children and left them at home alone while she jetted off to Europe took a deal Monday and pleaded guilty to four counts of child endangerment, according to media reports. Erin Lee Macke, 30, of Johnston, could avoid prison altogether.

The children — twins, who are 12, and the others 6 and 7 — were found with no adult supervision on Sept. 21, 2017, after police were asked to make a welfare check. Macke left the country for Germany on Sept. 20 and wasn’t expected back until Oct. 1. Police called Macke in Germany after the kids were taken into custody by social workers and demanded that she return home — she did, but not until Sept. 28, when she was arrested.

In exchange for her plea, authorities dropped a charge of making a firearm available to a person under the age of 21.

When police searched the home last fall, they found an unsecured gun and ammunition on a shelf in Macke’s bedroom, where the youngest children were sleeping in their mother’s absence. The Des Moines Register said that by accepting the plea bargain, Macke could avoid prison, or she could get a maximum of eight years in prison. Macke’s sentencing is set for April 19, WHO-TV reported.

The Johnston Police Department said at the time that Macke’s visit was social in nature and that she believed the children were responsible enough to care for themselves. However, she had not made any arrangements for an adult to care or supervise the children while she was away.

Macke’s ex-husband, who is the father of two of the children, told Inside Edition last fall that he was really angry, but not surprised. “In my eyes it was a clear, deliberate, intentional act,” he said.

The Iowa Department of Human Services took custody of the children and placed them with family members. A protection order is in place. It allows supervised phone calls and visits with the kids.

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Image via Polk County Jail