TO CLOSE

The father of a baby found crawling on the street has been accused of negligence.
Kala Kachmar and Andrew Ford and Andrew Goudsward, Asbury Park Press

A baby is shown crawling across the Joe Parker Road to Lakewood.(Photo courtesy of Cory Cannon)

LAKEWOOD – Police have accused the father of a 10-month-old baby who was found crawling on Joe Parker Road on September 22.

Evgeniy Dorman, 41, has been charged with cruelty and neglect of a child, a fourth-degree crime, according to the Lakewood Police Sergeant. Gregory Staffordsmith. He went to the police at 1:15 pm Friday.

Police found that the boy had crawled through an open door, probably left "unsecured" by an older brother, and then walked about 140 feet into the street, Staffordsmith said. A passer-by, Cory M. Cannon, found the baby and reported the incident to the police.

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Cannon, 41, from Eatontown, was coming down Joe Parker Road just before 6 pm. September 22 when he saw the baby. He took a picture that went viral, sparking controversy in social media about whether he should have helped the baby before taking the picture.

A neighbor approached Cannon and brought the baby back to his parents. The family did not know that the child had left before being taken home, the police said.

Cannon told the Asbury Park press in an email that, when he followed the baby and the neighbor to the child's house, the door was ajar and a toddler responded.

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Police said that the baby had not been injured or injured and that child protection services had been called. The speed limit on Joe Parker Road is 40 mph.

A woman who called herself the baby's babysitter told Asbury Park press Monday that it was an accident and that she was busy caring for the baby and could not speak. She refused to be interviewed again on Tuesday.

Neighbors told the press Monday that the child's parents are incredible and dedicated people who have made a mistake. Both individuals spoke to the press under the guise of anonymity.

"It's devastating what people are saying on social media," she said, adding that the family is still in the park playing with their children. "I am personally destroyed because I know the family."

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A man from the neighboring Grandview Drive, who crosses Joe Parker Road, said he was a member of various community agencies and saw tragedies of all kinds in Lakewood.

"We are all people of means," he said. "If we had the feeling that there was a problem with the family, we would have got them the help they needed. We are a community that cares for each other.

Dorman was released pending a date of hearing. The weeklong investigation was conducted by Lakewood Police and the Ocean County Attorney 's Office.

Keep checking app.com for the latest on Lakewood baby case.

Kala Kachmar: @NewsQuip; 732-643-4061; [email protected]

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