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Inset: Emily Sabogal (Miami-Dade Corrections). Background: Body camera video of Sabogal”s arrest after she allegedly left her children alone in an Uber for two hours (Sunrise police via WPLG).
A woman from Florida is now facing additional legal troubles after reportedly abandoning her children in an Uber for over two hours while she wandered around town. During this time, authorities were searching for her, culminating in a new charge of child neglect.
Emily Sabogal, aged 32, has been charged with two counts of child neglect alongside unlawful child desertion, according to Sunrise police officials. The incident unfolded when an Uber driver contacted law enforcement back in February. Allegedly, Sabogal left her children in the vehicle unattended for more than two hours, prompting a search effort by the police. In a recent court hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors decided to add another charge against her.
Following the legal proceedings, the children’s father expressed his displeasure with Sabogal’s actions in an interview with local NBC affiliate, WTVJ. His frustration was palpable as he stated, “I’m here to seek justice for my kids. I want prosecution is what I want,” emphasizing his desire for the legal system to take decisive action. “This has been going on for a long time, and I don’t want this to be another slap on the wrist.”
Currently, the father has taken on the responsibility of caring for the children while Sabogal navigates her legal challenges. He voiced concerns about the danger she placed them in, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
He is now caring for the children as their mother goes through the legal process. He said Sabogal put them in danger.
“Anything could’ve happened to them,” he told the outlet. “We live in a state where there’s kidnapping, rape, murder, and she just handed them off to somebody. If I can be completely real, I hope she goes to jail.”
Sabogal was arraigned on the new charge and has a court date set for July 31.
Local ABC affiliate WPLG obtained body camera footage that captured Sabogal’s arrest.
“You just left your kids with an Uber,” an officer told Sabogal. “We were all over town looking for you… You left your kids for two hours.”
Asked where she was going, Sabogal said she was going home.
“So you were just going to leave the Uber and walk home?” the officer asked.
Sabogal replied she wasn’t going to walk home but explained that her situation was “really complicated.”
“I understand that, but your No. 1 priority should be your kids,” the officer said.
The mother went on to say that she doesn’t have a car and her phone died. The kids were with her after she picked them up from karate class earlier in the night.
“My kids are everything to me,” she said.
Sabogal then stated she didn’t know what was going on.
“What’s going on is you deserted your kids for two hours,” the officer scolded. “That’s what’s going on. You deserted your kids for two hours. That’s what’s going on. That Uber driver has been sitting with your kids waiting for you to come back for the past two hours.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, an arrest report said cops responded around 11 p.m. Feb. 13 to a report about two unattended children. The Uber driver said he picked up Sabogal and her two kids earlier in the night.
Sabogal was holding a cup with what the driver believed to be alcohol, the affidavit said. She allegedly kept repeating in Spanish “he thinks I’m stupid” before she grabbed his phone and canceled the ride. She then gave him $10 and asked him to turn onto NW 108th Ave from NW 50th Street, where she asked the driver to stop, according to the driver.
The defendant got out of the car and said she’d be back in a couple of minutes, the affidavit said. Sabogal walked out of sight, thus “deserting her two children and putting them at an unreasonable risk by leaving them alone with an unknown individual,” cops wrote. The children seemed unbothered by what was transpiring and were even playful, officers noted.
After about an hour, the Uber driver called the mother and asked when she would be returning. She responded she’d be back in “12 minutes,” the affidavit said. But she never showed and she wasn’t answering his phone calls, cops said. After two hours had passed, the driver called 911.
Sabogal “showed that she had no intent on returning due to her lengthy absence,” the affidavit stated.
Cops observed the kids to be in good health, although they said they were thirsty and hungry.
“I provided them with food and water as they also expressed concern for their mother,” cops wrote.
Officers found Sabogal walking near a McDonald’s more than 2 miles away and took her into custody. She could not explain why she left her kids alone or how she arrived at McDonald’s, according to police.
Cops spoke with staff at Bob G’s Wings N Things, a local restaurant, who confirmed Sabogal was at the establishment with her kids earlier in the night. Staff told cops that the defendant “enjoyed multiple alcoholic beverages at the bar” as her children were running around unsupervised.
Sabogal smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech, police allege. She was arrested and taken to the Broward County Jail where she has since posted bond. The children were released to a family member.
The father of the children told WPLG that this wasn’t the first time Sabogal has behaved erratically. He said he was “very concerned” for the safety of his kids.
“Moving forward, she needs help. I don’t understand how someone in their right mind would do something like this,” he told the TV station. “She’s obviously not OK, and this needs to end.”