Man who left son, 15 months, in car as he gambled faces trial

The recent furor all started June 15 with Donald Waige and a $10 Parx Casino credit.

Eager to bet something for nothing, the 59-year-old Waige drove to the Bensalem casino 13 miles from his Philadelphia home. There he played the slots and, police say, left his 15-month-old son unattended in the car, its motor running, for an hour.

When found, the toddler was "screaming and red in the face," Bensalem Police Officer Gregory DiPaolo testified at a preliminary hearing Thursday. "Being a father, I would describe him as terrified."

Waige was arrested in the first of seven reported incidents in which adults allegedly left children unattended in vehicles outside Parx.

The resulting public attention has prompted the casino to tighten security and state legislators to propose tougher penalties for leaving children behind in vehicles.

After lawyers argued Thursday over whether criminal law even applied to his case, Waige was ordered held for trial on a child-endangerment charge by District Judge Joseph Falcone.

"It is clear that he placed the child in danger and at risk by leaving the child in the car," Deputy District Attorney Maureen Spang told Falcone. Waige "knew what he was doing. He left this child in the car . . . went into the casino, and he played games."

Defense attorney Jahn S. Chesnov argued that leaving a small child alone in a car is specifically defined as a summary offense in Pennsylvania's motor-vehicle code.

"All poor judgment does not constitute a crime," he told Falcone.

Waige was not indifferent to the child's welfare, Chesnov said, noting that he had fed and diapered the boy before leaving him with the air-conditioner running.

"We're not here for a moral judgment," he said. "We're here to determine whether what he did or didn't do constituted child endangerment."

Falcone refused to toss the charge. "Someone could have broken into that car and stolen the car with the child inside it," he said.

Waige is scheduled for an arraignment Oct. 15 in Bucks County Court. He declined to comment after the hearing.

Bensalem Detective Christopher McMullin testified that Waige had admitted "he knew it was wrong" to have left the boy.

Waige told police that he had received a mailing from Parx that he could get an extra $10 on his casino reward card, McMullin testified. After running some errands with his son, Waige drove with him to Parx about 4:30 p.m.

"Basically he wanted to get a $10 credit," McMullin said, but wound up playing the slot machines for close to an hour.

A Parx customer saw the boy in his car seat, could hear his cries through car door, and notified casino officials. DiPaolo said he had unlocked the Nissan sedan and found the child's feet cold from the air-conditioner blowing on them.

Since then, six more incidents of children left in vehicles outside Parx have been reported. In all, five adults face child endangerment; charges were not brought in the other two cases.

Parx officials say they have increased parking-lot security patrols and the number of outside surveillance cameras.

Some state lawmakers also have proposed making it a felony to leave any child younger than 13 unattended in a vehicle.