Woman booked with child desertion

ST. AMANT — Ascension Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested a woman Tuesday after she allegedly left her 8-year-old child at home alone.

Joy Quirk, 33, 45181 Teddy Babin Road, Apt. 10, St. Amant, was arrested after deputies received a complaint from a resident concerned over the child’s welfare, Sheriff Jeff Wiley said in a news release.

When deputies arrived at the apartment, they found the child home alone and sleeping in a bedroom, Wiley said. He added that deputies also noticed the apartment’s oven was on, and that there were space heaters on the floor in the bedroom.

Quirk and a man soon arrived at the apartment, and Quirk told deputies she left for about 20 minutes to retrieve her vehicle. The child was placed in the care of a family member, Wiley said.

Quirk was booked on a misdemeanor charge of child desertion and was released from jail on Wednesday after posting bond, Wiley said.