Child found wandering in diaper; dad tells police ‘I don’t watch kids’
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ST. ALBANS, West Virginia — A West Virginia father is facing charges after his child was allegedly found wandering alone wearing only a diaper, and he told authorities that “I don’t watch kids.”
The St. Albans Police Department said officers responded to the area of Kanawha Terrace on Wednesday for a report that a small child was found walking alone wearing only a diaper. The child was able to direct the “concerned citizen” who found them back to their home, but when there was no answer at the door, that individual called 911.
Officers made “repeated attempts” to contact an adult at the home, and received no response until the child answered the door. Officers searched the home and found the child’s father asleep upstairs.
The father, identified as Mark Anthony Blake Jr., allegedly told officers that “this isn’t my deal, I don’t watch kids.”
Blake was arrested on a charge of child neglect creating risk of injury and was being held in the South Central Regional Jail on a $25,000 cash bond.
According to police, Blake was already on bond for a “similar incident” in August 2025.
Police said Child Protective Services was contacted to investigate further.