Inset: Racqual R. Hicks (Lucas County Corrections Center). Background: Luna's Internet Cafe, where Hicks allegedly left her seven kids in a car to gamble (Google Maps).
A 37-year-old mother in Ohio was arrested last week after she allegedly left seven children, one of whom was an infant, locked inside her car while she went to an internet cafe to gamble.
Racqual Roniquel Hicks was taken into custody last week and charged with seven counts of endangering children by creating a substantial risk to health or safety, records show.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Toledo Municipal Court, Hicks packed her seven children into her car and drove to Luna's Internet Cafe in the 4000 block of Secor Road in Toledo at 9:15 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, March 19. The establishment is about 120 miles northwest of Cleveland.
Police said the children's ages were 11 months, 1, 2, 6, 10, 13, and 15.
The complaint states that Hicks created a "substantial risk" to the safety of the children for several reasons, including that she drove to the internet cafe with a suspended license. She also allegedly did not have any car seats installed in the vehicle.
Additionally, once she arrived at Luna's, Hicks "did knowingly leave the children in the car" from 9:20 p.m. until about 10 p.m. so she could "proceed in gambling at the listed location." During this time, police said the kids were "unsupervised" and at risk.
Following her arrest, Hicks was booked into the Lucas County Corrections Center.
Hicks appeared in court on Friday before Toledo Municipal Judge Joseph J. Howe. She pleaded not guilty to all seven charges filed against her and Howe ordered her to be released on her own recognizance provided she wears a GPS tracking device.
The court also found Hicks indigent and appointed a public defender to represent her in the case. It was not immediately clear when she was scheduled to make her next appearance in court.
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