US Man, 38, Leaves 4 Children Inside Hot Car To Visit Sex Shop, Arrested

A 38-year-old man in the US was arrested after allegedly leaving his four children in a hot car without air conditioning while he spent nearly an hour inside a sex shop. According to The New York Post, the incident occurred on Thursday evening when the temperature reached 106 degrees (approximately 41 degrees Celsius). The man, identified as Ascencio Largo, was booked on child abuse charges after cops responded to multiple calls of children, aged two to seven, left unattended in the vehicle. The car was off, and the windows were rolled up, police said. 

"Officers responded to a parking lot of a business near 24th Street and Madison Street regarding multiple children inside of a vehicle that was not running. When officers arrived, they located multiple children in the car. Officers were able to gain entry into the car and secure the children," Phoenix Police said, per the outlet. 

Temperatures inside the car were about 125 degrees (51.6 degrees Celsius) when the kids were found, the cops added. The children, ages 2, 3, 4 and 7, were all showing signs of heat distress, including skin discolouration and profuse sweating. After the rescue, they were taken to an air-conditioned police SUV and given water. 

"There were signs of distress, you know, colour discolouration, you know, skin bright red, sweating. Clearly, the heat was affecting the children," Phoenix Police Sgt. Rob Scherer said. 

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Officers searched for the children's guardian and found their father, 38-year-old Ascencio Largo, inside an adult store. He allegedly went inside the shop about an hour before the children were found. Initially, the man pretended it wasn't his car, cops said.

"It just indicates a strong level of reckless culpability of knowing. It's difficult to say that anybody who grew up in Arizona doesn't know that children and dogs die in closed cars," Maricopa County Commissioner Jane McLaughlin said.

According to the Post, police also noticed alcohol on Largo's breath and said his driver's license had an ignition interlock requirement in place, but the vehicle did not have one installed. 

The 38-year-old was arrested and charged with four counts of child abuse and four counts of endangerment.