Arizona prosecutors are
seeking child abuse charges against a woman who drew national attention when
she left her two young sons in a hot car while she was at a job interview,
after she failed to endow court-mandated trust funds for the children.
Prosecutors filed a motion in
Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix to revoke a plea deal with Shanesha
Taylor that called for her to put $60,000 in child care and educational
accounts by Monday.G
"Due to the defendant's
failure to comply with the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, the
State has moved to reinstate prosecution," said Jerry Cobb, a spokesman
for County Attorney Bill Montgomery.
Taylor was charged with two
counts of felony child abuse for leaving her 6-month-old and 2-year-old boys in
a parked vehicle in March with temperatures registering more than 100 degrees
Fahrenheit (38 Celsius). Police said the boys were sweating profusely and
in obvious distress when they arrived on the scene.
Taylor's case, punctuated by
the image of her tearful mug shot which was broadcast widely, drew national
attention and helped generate nearly $115,000 in donations from an online
fundraising effort.
As part of the plea deal,
Taylor agreed to put $60,000 in the trust funds and attend parenting and
substance abuse treatment classes. She also was able to regain custody of her
children in August.
But on Monday, her attorney
said at a court hearing that the 35-year-old Taylor remains unemployed and
fears that she may need more of the money to live and provide for her children.
Benjamin Taylor, who is not
related to his client, said the county attorney's decision to reinstate charges
should be short-lived.
Taylor told Reuters that he
believes he has an agreement with the county attorney to have the charges
ultimately dropped after $40,000 is deposited in the trust funds by a Nov. 15
deadline.
"We are confident that
this will all work out," he said.
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