Woman arrested for abandoning her child to a known sex offender

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – A woman was arrested for leaving her four-year-old child alone with a known sex offender on multiple occasions.

Officers from the Gainesville Police Department and the Department of Children and Family visited 39-year-old April Dillon frequently last year.

They say their son told his mother in 2023 that he had been sexually abused by a 69-year-old friend who she knew was a convicted sex offender.

On September 6, Dillon's son told his mother that it had happened again.

GPD officials said Dillon believed her son was, quote, “lying” about the allegations and let the man watch her son anyway.

She never brought up the subject with the 69-year-old.

The four-year-old boy did not tell officers that he had been sexually abused, but said his mother often made a “molly” noise and hit him on the head.

They say she was visibly drunk and moved erratically when officers questioned her.

They say officers also found a kitchen knife and drug paraphernalia next to the bed where Dillon and her son were sleeping.

In early 2024, DCF officials were called because the four-year-old had been, quote, “kicked out into the street” and left alone.

A man sat with the boy for hours before they came.

Officers said she had been drinking when they visited her at 7 a.m.

Dillon was arrested for child neglect.

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