Kimberly Lightsey, a mother of four children between the ages of one and 11 years old, abandoned her children in a hotel room in Winterhaven, Florida to go out partying.
In return for avoiding five years in jail, Lightsey agreed not to have any more children. This plea bargain was offered by judge Bartow. When the judge offered the deal, Lightsey momentarily heisted and looked over to her boyfriend stating that she wanted more children, however, she agreed to the plea bargain and she is now legally precluded from having children for the next 13 years. In addition, she was banned from having any unsupervised contact with minors. She was also placed under house arrest for two years and ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service.
Another guest at the hotel told police after hearing crying coming from the bedroom and an overturned stroller in a hallway. When police entered the hotel room they found it in ‘complete disarray’ with trash, food and clothing strewn everywhere. Lightsey was arrested when she returned to the hotel room. All of her children were taken into care before being placed with relatives.
The judge agreed that Lightsey could have more children in the future if she is able to fulfill conditions of her probation and successfully petitions the court to remove the ‘no unsupervised contact with minors’ clause.