Mother Arrested For Abandoning Her 9-Year-Old At McDonald's To Gamble

According to reports from Yahoo Lifestyle, 34-year-old Stacy Rupp dropped off her 9-year-old son at McDonald’s on Wednesday evening at around 8:30 p.m. before hitting Desert Diamond Casino, located about a mile away. An employee observed the unsupervised boy looking “dirty and disheveled” and ended up calling the police. While he was there, the staff gifted the young boy with a coloring book, ice cream, and cookies, read a police report.

Officer Brandon Sheffert of the Peoria Police Department told Yahoo that the child was not upset. He said his mother dropped him off in order to gamble but noted, “She always comes back.” Her son had been left unattended for two hours.

Rupp ended up arriving only minutes after law enforcement — and she came with excuses. According to the police report, Rupp first told officers she was grocery shopping at a nearby Fry’s Marketplace, but couldn’t provide any proof.

She then proceeded to admit that she “messed up,” and went to the casino. “He drives me crazy and steals my money,” she said in the police report. According to AZ Family, court documents state that Rupp “did not provide a cell phone or any type of means of communication to the victim for him to get in contact with her in case of an emergency.”

Stacy Rupp was arrested and charged with child abuse and endangerment.

A future court date has been set for July.