A 63-year-old Florida man faces a child neglect charge after police say his 4-year-old son wandered alone onto a busy sidewalk carrying a half-eaten slice of pizza.
Semyon Levin has pleaded not guilty to child neglect without great bodily harm, according to Miami-Dade County court records.
The incident occurred Wednesday around 3 p.m. at a Starbucks in Sunny Isles, just north of Miami Beach. According to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law & Crime and filed by the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department, Levin was eating and watching his young son when “he lost sight of him.”
Investigators noted that despite not knowing where the child went, Levin did not take “immediate action such as contacting police to request help in locating him.”
Levin told officers that his daughters, ages 7 and 9, had left the coffee shop to walk home with an adult, and he assumed the boy went with them. Levin further explained “that he constantly loses sight” of his son, adding that the boy “has too much energy, making it hard for him to keep him in sight.”
When investigators asked why he never alerted authorities, Levin allegedly “stated that he did not think [the boy] being lost constituted an emergency.”
A police officer conducting an unrelated traffic stop near the 17200 block of Collins Avenue was flagged down by a passing driver who reported “a wandering small child on the sidewalk.” The officer found the 4-year-old walking north along Collins Avenue with “visible redness on his face” while holding a slice of pizza.
The officer brought the boy into his patrol vehicle and began searching the area for his family.
Nearby, the officer spotted a woman “walking rapidly” outside an apartment building alongside a young girl. The woman, identified as Levin’s wife, confirmed to police that she was looking for her missing son.
She contacted Levin, who then arrived at the location and acknowledged the child had been under his direct supervision. Police estimated the boy had been away from his father for about an hour before being found.
READ: Florida OnlyFans Creator Sentenced To Federal Prison For $1.5 Million Tax Scheme
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
