A 70-year-old Richmond Heights guardian ended up in handcuffs after telling officers she would rather sit in a jail cell than take back a 17-year-old girl in her care, according to police and local reports. The teen had been taken to a nearby hospital on Sunday, and what started as a medical visit quickly turned into a welfare check that ended with the guardian’s arrest.
Hospital staff at Hillcrest Hospital contacted police after the teen, who had been brought in from a Richmond Heights home, arrived for treatment on Sunday, Cleveland.com reports. Officers went to a Harris Road residence, where the 70-year-old guardian allegedly refused to let the girl return, described her as “troublesome,” and told officers she preferred to go to jail instead. Police arrested the woman on a charge of endangering children and notified Cuyahoga County child and family services about the situation.
Police response and child-services referral
The Richmond Heights Police Department handled the call, and the city notes that the department runs a temporary holding facility and works with county authorities when someone needs to be held longer. According to the Richmond Heights Police Department, arrestees are usually kept in the city facility only for short stints before they are transferred to county custody.
The Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services takes reports at all hours and lists a hotline, 216-696-KIDS, on its website for suspected abuse or neglect. That hotline serves as the county’s intake point for cases like this that are referred by police.
Legal exposure for the guardian
The woman was booked on an endangering-children charge, which in Ohio applies to parents or guardians who create a substantial risk to a child’s health or safety by violating a duty of care. Under Ohio law, specifically R.C. 2919.22, the offense can be treated as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on what happened and whether the child suffered serious physical harm, and the law allows for stiffer penalties if there are prior convictions. The statute itself sets out the full definitions and penalty ranges…