A Cary woman locked a 10-year-old outside her home for several hours in the cold on Christmas, according to an arrest warrant.
Susan Dowless, 43, of 223 Pony Club Circle, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse. She was released Wednesday night from the Wake County jail under a $5,000 bond and she has been ordered not to have any contact with the child.
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An arrest warrant states that the 10-year-old was locked outside "when the temperature was below 40 degrees, for several hours, without ... adequate clothing, nourishment or supervision." The warrant goes on that the rest of the family "traveled outside the area for a dinner party."
Dowless' oldest son, 21-year-old Gilmore Smith, says the incident was a misunderstanding and the child was never intentionally locked out of the home.
Smith said his 10-year-old brother had gone out to play with friends and was told to return home at a certain time. When he did not arrive, the family assumed he would be staying at his friend's house.
"We waited for him for a good hour and then we went on. We weren't trying to abandon him or anything," Smith explained. "We thought he was going to be with his friends, like he normally was. Every time he comes home from school, he goes to his friend's house. He plays until it's dark, then he comes home."
Smith described his mother as a single, working mom who tries her best, but struggles to do it all alone after leaving what he called an abusive relationship.
"I love my mom. I've always been there to help her, even though I don't express my love enough because I've had so much hatred in my life, so much heartache, but I do the best I can," Smith said.
Smith has taken on the role of father figure for his younger brothers and said he knows that he and his mother failed the 10-year-old boy.
"It's on me an my mother because we weren't watching him," he said.
Police said Wednesday that the child is in good health and in the care of a family member.
"He's doing alright," Smith said. "He's happy."