D.A. Asked to Charge Parents in Simi Case : Families: Four children were left alone for four days. Police say they were told to avoid contacting authorities.
Simi Valley police asked Thursday that criminal charges be filed against a couple who left their four children home alone for four days, but county prosecutors said they would not decide immediately whether to take the case to court.
After a one-week investigation, police asked the Ventura County district attorney’s office to issue arrest warrants on misdemeanor child endangerment charges against Armand E. D’Alo, 36, and Robbin M. D’Alo, 35.
Investigators said the couple left their four children, ages 6 to 13, at home alone for four days while they took a business trip to Northern California.
Although the children had plenty of food and were in good health, officers said the youngsters were told to avoid contact with police, even in an emergency. “They were discouraged from calling 911,†Simi Valley Police Sgt. Andy McCluskey said.
The request for charges was based on interviews with the children and neighbors in the posh Oakridge Estates tract where the family lives. McCluskey said the parents refused to be interviewed after investigators said they needed to talk to the husband and wife separately.
The sergeant said officers can recommend misdemeanor or more serious felony charges, depending on the level of danger in which they believe that the children were placed.
The Simi Valley children--three boys, ages 13, 8 and 6, and a 10-year-old girl--were found home by themselves Jan. 11 after the children failed to attend school, and officers were asked to check the house.
Although the children were unhurt, “it was just a matter of being unsupervised,†McCluskey said. “The instructions left made it difficult for the children to contact law enforcement in the event of an emergency.â€
Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth, supervisor of the sexual assault and child-abuse unit, said her staff needs to review the police reports and do additional research before deciding whether to file charges against the D’Alos.
“We want to be fair to everyone concerned, so we’re taking a serious look at it,†the prosecutor said. “We’ll not be able to even consider a decision until after the first part of next week.â€
The children were returned to their parents last week, authorities said.
If charged and convicted, the parents could be placed on probation or sentenced up to one year in County Jail.
Henke-Dobroth said she often reviews cases in which a parent is accused of leaving a child alone for a few hours or in the care of an adult child-care worker or neighbor for several days.
She said she has rarely seen a Ventura County case in which parents are suspected of leaving their children at home unsupervised for several days.
In a brief telephone interview, Robbin D’Alo said Thursday, “all our attorney told us to say is that everything has been blown out of proportion.â€
She referred all other questions to the parents’ attorney, Pat K. Bowen.
“I’m surprised the case has gotten even this far,†Bowen said. “I think the evidence will clearly vindicate my clients’ decision.â€
He added: “In my opinion, my clients are not guilty of a crime. They may have been guilty of some poor judgment. That’s not my opinion, necessarily. But lack of judgment itself is not a crime.â€
Bowen said the eldest child was merely told not to dial 911 with routine questions. “What he was told was that except in some disastrous emergency, he should call his aunt or someone else on the support list,†the attorney said.
The attorney also said he and the parents all wanted to talk to the police at the same time. He said that would be more efficient and less costly for the parents, who were paying for his time.
Bowen said Simi Valley police told him that their policy required them to talk to the mother and father separately, though each could have the attorney present. The couple refused, on Bowen’s advice, and the police refused to conduct a dual interview, the attorney said.
“My interpretation is that they declined to interview my clients,†Bowen said.
But Sgt. McCluskey said, “You don’t interview co-defendants together. That’s just not done.â€
He said investigators talk to suspects separately to determine whether their stories match and to look for inconsistencies between the accounts.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
