WATERVILLE — A couple were summoned on charges of endangering the welfare of a child after someone called to report a barefoot child wandering alone along the street Wednesday afternoon.

Dustin A. Moody, 25, and Sierra-Dawn Bailey, 18, were each issued a summons on the Class D misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

Police found a 2-year-old girl walking alone near the intersection of Ash Street and College Avenue, which is also busy U.S. Route 201, around 4:30 p.m., said Deputy Chief Bill Bonney. Police stopped the child and found that her feet were red and sore from walking on pavement.

After canvassing the area, officers found a door open at 9 Ash St. Inside, they found Moody in his apartment, where he reportedly was supposed to be watching the child for his girlfriend, who is the child’s mother.

Moody said his girlfriend, Bailey, was at work and that he works nights, so he had fallen asleep after the child had fallen asleep around 1 p.m. At some point the child must have awakened and wandered off from the apartment, Bonney said.

While Bailey was not present during the incident, she was still charged because she is the child’s parent and “is responsible for making sure the child was with somebody safe, which wasn’t the case,” Bonney said.

Bonney said police reported the incident to the state Department of Health and Human Services, which left the child in Bailey’s custody while investigating further.

Moody and Bailey are scheduled to appear Dec. 6 in Waterville District Court to answer the charges.

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