Toddler found alone in Indiana motel room, parents charged

Scott County, Indiana – After police say they found a 1-year-old girl by herself, strapped in a car seat on the floor of a motel room in Scott County, a man and woman were charged with neglect.

On Sunday, July 24, the Department of Child Services contacted Scottsburg police on a report of a child left unattended in a room at the Mariann Travel Inn in Scottsburg.

Together, police and the DCS knocked and tried to get into the room, but no one came to the door.

According to several people outside of the neighboring room, they saw a man and woman leave the room about 90 minutes earlier. The witnesses said the man and woman often leave the child alone, and they can frequently hear the child cry, according to court documents.

The hotel staff helped the police and DCS get inside the room. They found a 1-year-old child alone, secured in a car seat on the floor.

There were no monitoring devices in the room, officers said.

According to court documents, once the child was removed from the car seat, the DCS worker noticed the toddler “was not clean and her diaper was full.”

Police located the girl’s parents, Austin Bennett and Jessica Bishop, in a room on the other side of the motel. Court documents indicated that the room was out of view of the room where the child was found.

According to police, Bennett told that the child was left in the room because she was sleeping. He reportedly told police the child was teething and sleeps better when there is no one else in the room.

Bennett and Bishop were taken to the Scott County Jail and charged for neglect of a dependent.