People v. Watson

In People v. Watson, 182 Misc 2d 644, 700 N.Y.S.2d 651(1999), the facts involved a 7 year old child left alone at home for over 2 1/2 hours which led to a charge of child endangerment being filed against the parent under PL 260.10(1). The Watson Court in rejecting a motion to dismiss the change in the interest of justice under CPL 170.40 (1) stated "It is obvious that the offense charged is inherently serious," it was "reasonably foreseeable that extreme harm could come to a young child who is left alone at home," that as "deterrence is one goal of a sentence if a dismissal is granted..., any, ...person, may think it acceptable to leave small children at home without proper supervision" so by "imposing a sentence" the "public is informed that such conduct... will not be tolerated" because otherwise "the safety and welfare of young children in the community will be affected... without punishment as others may disregard the importance of providing proper supervision for children"