SANFORD, Fla. – A judge set no bond for the parents of a 3-year-old boy who died after he was pulled from the water at a Sanford apartment complex Saturday.
From his hospital bed via Zoom, Lester Ortiz looked emotional as a Seminole County judge read his charges. Barbara Ruiz also faced a judge from the county jail.
Sanford police charged them both with aggravated manslaughter of a child. The judge said they also both violated probation for previous cases.
“As a parent, regardless to what other special concerns your child may have, it is your job to keep them safe,” said Bianca Gillett from Sanford Police Department.
Their 3-year-old son died when police say he was pulled from a body of water at the Crosby at Towne Center apartments on Saturday.
“We were notified by the father that he had not been able to locate the child for about 30 minutes,” said Gillett.
Police said the child, who was diagnosed with autism, was able to somehow leave the apartment while the parents were present.
“Both parents were in the home possibly under the influence,” said Gillett. “No safety measures taken for a child that you know has done this on multiple occasions. So they absolutely could have prevented the death of this child.”
According to police reports, Sanford police were called to the home back in March for a similar case. In that case, the Florida Department of Children and Families said the child was located knee-deep in his neighborhood pond after he unlocked the door of his home.
“In that case, that was our first Instance with these parents,” said Gillett. “The child was found. There was no negative impact on the child. We reported it to CPS and at that point, that’s where they step in to create a plan for the family.”
News 6 has reached out to DCF to get a better idea about previous contact with this family.
Reports also show that in a different jurisdiction in Seminole County, DCF said their other son, who is 6 and also diagnosed with autism, had gone missing briefly last September while under the parents’ care.
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