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Mother accused of abandoning nine children while she traveled arrested
By RYAN MILLS
6:26 p.m., Thursday, January 3, 2008
A 25-year-old woman who authorities believe left nine children alone in her roach-infested apartment while she traveled to Haiti in mid-December was arrested at an airport in Broward County.
Roberta Desir, 601 W. Delaware Ave., Apt. A1, Immokalee, was arrested on Dec. 23 at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on an out of county hold, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Desir was charged with child neglect, and has since posted bond and been released, said Kristi Lester, a spokeswoman for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
"That was actually our warrant they picked her up on," Lester said.
On Dec. 20, Collier County sheriff’s deputies discovered nine children home alone in Desir’s apartment after a woman reported that one of the children came to school that day not wearing any underwear. The children ranged in age from 8 months to 15 years old, authorities said.
One of the children, a 14-year-old girl, told deputies that her parents went to Haiti and her brother was taking care of her and her siblings. The girl said her brother was at work, and didn’t know how to contact him.
A neighbor told deputies the parents left on Dec. 14, and were slated to return after Christmas.
When deputies entered the apartment they found it filled with garbage, food and roaches, the Sheriff’s Office reported. Four of the children were running around naked, and in a back room the 8-month-old was in a crib covered with crumbs and roaches.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was called to the scene and removed the children from the apartment.
Neighbors and family members identified the father of some of the children as Ramser Azor, who also traveled to Haiti. They said Desir has six children and Azor has seven, but not all of them were living in the apartment when investigators arrived.
"The father is still in Haiti, according to what we know," Lester said. "They’re still waiting for him. They’re not sure when he will return, but we are waiting for him."
Roberta Desir