Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Natasha Shamar Slater, 33, was arrested yesterday morning and charged with four counts of child neglect after a child was found at an intersection wearing only a hoodie and a wet diaper, with temperatures in the upper 30s.

At about 8:16 a.m. on January 3, two witnesses reported finding a small child at the intersection of SW 8th Avenue and SW 10th Street, wearing only a hoodie, a soaked diaper, and no shoes, socks, hat, or gloves.

Gainesville Police Department officers also reportedly found three other children (their ages were redacted), alone in an apartment; the two older children reportedly told an officer that Slater had left them in charge of the younger children while she went to work for a meeting.

One child reportedly said that they stay at the apartment at least three days a week and sometimes stay at a hotel.

The arresting officer reported that there was a large amount of trash piled throughout the apartment, the toilets were filled with feces and appeared to be inoperable, feces were smeared on walls and on some of the beds, the refrigerator contained animal droppings and moldy food and appeared to be broken, and “numerous” insects were seen in the apartment. The officer concluded that the apartment “did not appear to be suitable for anyone to reside in, especially children,” and he wrote that a Department of Children and Families worker shared that conclusion.

Post Miranda, Slater reportedly said she had a meeting at work at 9 but had left late, around 8:55 a.m., and had arrived at work at about 9:15 a.m. However, GPD detectives reportedly reviewed surveillance video from the apartment complex that showed Slater leaving between 7 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. and showed the young child leaving the apartment around 8:16 a.m.

When asked about the video, Slater reportedly changed her story and said she had to wait for a friend to drop her own children off before leaving for work, but she continued to insist that she had not left until at least 8 a.m.

When asked about the state of the apartment, Slater reportedly said she and the children do not stay at the apartment and mostly live at a hotel, but the officer reported that she was unable to provide any receipts to verify that claim.

A sworn complaint was filed against Slater in 2019 after one of the other children was found wandering in public after Slater allegedly left the older two children in charge while she left the house. That charge was later dropped after administrative actions were deemed to be sufficient.

Slater has been charged with four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm. She has no criminal convictions; Judge Sean Brewer set bail at $100,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.