Man went to strip club, left kids home alone

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Written by: 195 on Mar 10, 2010

NORTH FORT MYERS: Deputies arrested a man on child neglect charges North Fort Myers for leaving his two young daughters at home alone while he went looking for his girlfriend at an adult night club.

Lee County deputies say on Tuesday, 28-year-old Walter Jamel Johnson was stopped by a Fort Myers police officer for trying to break into a vehicle at Babe's night club in Fort Myers.

The police officer asked the Lee County Sheriff's Office to dispatch a deputy to the man's address.

When the deputy got there, he saw two young girls, ages six and four, home alone.

"I feel bad for the kids. They didn't ask for it," said neighbor Nicole Fowler.

"As far as I know he's a good dad. I don't think he would take off like that unless something was happening," added neighbor Michael Diamond.

He reported that the home was in disarray and that the oven had been left on to provide heat for the children.

The deputy stayed with the kids to make sure they were safe.

Detectives with the Lee County Sheriff's Office Child Abuse Investigative Unit quickly responded to Babe's to take over with their part of the investigation.

Johnson told the detectives he was looking for his girlfriend, who worked at Babe's but had not come home when her shift was over.

Johnson admitted to detectives that he had walked to Babe's Strip Club from his North Fort Myers home and had left his young daughters at home alone.

At this time, the detectives went to Johnson's residence and Johnson voluntarily went with them.

When detectives got there, they found more hazards to the children. One example was a curling iron left plugged in and lying in the sink and other electrical cords hanging within the kids' reach.

Detectives also took a sworn statement from a relative of the young girls who said that Johnson has left the children home unattended for long periods of time on numerous occasions

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