Woman arrested for leaving kids alone while she was gambling

A Florida woman has been charged with five felony counts of child neglect after police say she left her four kids and a grandchild alone while she gambled at a casino in Miami.

She told WTVJ, "I was out trying to get my rent paid!"

35-year-old Crystal Hernandez was arrested Tuesday, according to WPLG. She's accused of leaving the five kids, who are between the ages of 2 and 12 years old, home alone with no supervision or food.

WSVN says,"Investigators say there were feces on the floor and on the counter. We were just in there, and I can tell you, there was a strong odor of urine in that apartment."

According to court records, officers were called to the scene when neighbors called 9-1-1 to report seeing the children wandering around the neighborhood asking for food.

WFOR reports child protective services immediately removed all five children from Hernandez's home, and on Wednesday, a judge ordered her not to have contact with any of them.

But Hernandez, who moved to South Florida about three months ago, told WTVJ she had a babysitter watching the kids at the time of her arrest and that she had plenty of food in her house for them to eat.

Hernandez was formally charged with five counts of child abuse without great bodily harm, and her bail was set at $5,000.