Alexandria Mom Gets Prison Time For Cruelty To Kids

ALEXANDRIA, VA—An Alexandria mom has been sentenced for cruelty to her three children. Patricia Gamble, 46, was convicted of three counts of felony cruelty to children. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison with all but three years suspended.

Gamble was charged after her three children aged 12, 5, and 1, had been found alone in a dirty, dark basement, according to prosecutors. They had not seen their mother for three days, and investigations revealed the mother left her kids alone for several days at a time on numerous occasions over two months.

The mother reportedly left them with insufficient food or no food at all. Prosecutors say the children sometimes snuck out of the basement and stole food from the family living upstairs.

The oldest child stayed home from school to watch after the younger two children. The mother would often send text claiming to be on the way home with food, but most of the time she did not show up until days later.

The 12-year-old and 5 -year old children had previously been taken away by Child Protective Services outside Alexandria and had been in foster care for six and two years, respectively. CPS investigations had found the children were left home in dirty and unsafe living conditions. According to prosecutors, Gamble recently moved to Alexandria to avoid CPS authorities from the prior jurisdiction.

When police arrested Gamble, she admitted to leaving the kids at home and claimed she was struggling with addiction. She is being held at the Alexandria jail until her transfer to prison.

Upon her release, she will be supervised probation for two years and must follow the condition of good behavior for five years. She gave up parental rights to all three children before being sentenced.

Image via Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney