TEHACHAPI, CA -- The mother of a 2-year-old child is facing charges of child abuse, after the Kern County Sheriff's Department says she left the child alone in a Tehachapi field for more than 10 hours.
The Sheriff's department says a person passing by found the two-year-old child around 9 a.m. Sunday. The child was seated in a stroller that was tipped over and left unattended in a vacant field near Cherry Lane and Sage Lane. Officials believe the child was alone in the stroller from about 10:30 p.m. Saturday until 9 a.m. Sunday.
Officials said the child was not physically harmed and was taken into protective custody, then transported the Jamison Center.
Deputies found the child's mother, identified as Stacey Nikkel, 34, who they said lives in the Tehachapi area. Nikkel was arrested and booked into jail in Bakersfield. Her bail was set at $20,000. She's charged with one count of willful cruelty to child and one count of being under the influence of a controlled substance. On Tuesday, Nikkel pleaded not guilty to those two charges.
The Sheriff's department says a person passing by found the two-year-old child around 9 a.m. Sunday. The child was seated in a stroller that was tipped over and left unattended in a vacant field near Cherry Lane and Sage Lane. Officials believe the child was alone in the stroller from about 10:30 p.m. Saturday until 9 a.m. Sunday.
Officials said the child was not physically harmed and was taken into protective custody, then transported the Jamison Center.
Deputies found the child's mother, identified as Stacey Nikkel, 34, who they said lives in the Tehachapi area. Nikkel was arrested and booked into jail in Bakersfield. Her bail was set at $20,000. She's charged with one count of willful cruelty to child and one count of being under the influence of a controlled substance. On Tuesday, Nikkel pleaded not guilty to those two charges.