Hopkinsville Police on Thursday night arrested a man and woman on child abuse charges after a five-year old boy was found alone on South Jessup Street.
A concerned citizen stopped at about 7:15 p.m. after finding the barefoot boy wearing shorts and a t-shirt, crying and shivering while waving at traffic, according to arrest citations for 26-year old David Ewing and 27-year old Victoria Paige Smith of Hopkinsville.
The boy told social workers that his mother and step-father had been gone since he returned home from school, while the suspects said they had only been away to the store for about 15 minutes. Police say they were with the boy for longer than 15 minutes before Ewing and Smith returned.
The boy said he went out into the street twice to try to see where his mother had gone, according to the report.
Smith and Ewing were both arrested and charged with second-degree criminal abuse.