A 35-year-old man in the U.S. has been arrested by police after leaving his 6-year-old daughter alone in front of a store since early morning to buy Pokemon cards.
According to Fox News and other reports on the 10th (local time), John-Michael Dooley (35) was arrested on the morning of the 6th in front of a Target hypermarket in West Ashley, Charleston, South Carolina.
According to the Charleston Police Department in South Carolina, Dooley was standing in line outside the Target store with his daughter to purchase a new set of Pokemon cards. After 1 a.m., he handed his daughter a pillow and a blanket, left the sleeping child alone in the queue, and walked away.
When Dooley failed to appear after an hour, concerned bystanders worried about the child’s safety and reported the incident to the police. Officers responded to the scene around 2:30 a.m. after receiving reports of an unattended child.
When Dooley later returned to the store, witnesses pointed him out as the child’s guardian, and police arrested him on the spot. During police questioning, Dooley admitted that he left his daughter behind to hold their spot in the line.
Police stated that the child was unharmed and was handed over to the South Carolina Department of Social Services for emergency protective custody.
Dooley has been charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or desertion and is facing his first court appearance on the 12th of next month.
Meanwhile, Pokemon cards enjoy high popularity among both children and adult collectors. While typically sold for about $1 to $5, some rare cards trade for dozens of times their original price in the resale market.
