LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- A Bonita Springs man is facing child neglect and bribery charges after a 6-year-old child was found wandering alone in the street.
35-year-old Salvador Lem was arrested on Saturday and booked into the Lee County Jail.
According to a Lee County Sheriff's Office report, A woman found the 6-year-old girl wandering near Riverside Park in Bonita Springs, and the child said her mom is in Guatemala and her dad left. The woman called law enforcement.
Deputies stayed with the child and went to her home, and attempted to contact her father, Lem. The father arrived about 2 and a half hours after deputies first arrived, and told deputies he had gone grocery shopping. Deputies say he smelled of alcohol and had only one bag containing a box of ramen noodles.
Lem, who is an illegal alien and wears an ankle monitor, was taken to the sheriff's office for an interview, during which he reportedly offered a detective and a deputy $100 to let him go.
Investigators say the child was found on a primary road near a body of water, and had to cross railroad tracks to get there. They also report there was no food at the residence.
A special agent with Homeland Security Investigations was notified of the arrest and will be placing a detainer on Lem.
The Department of Children and Families have taken custody of the child.
