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5 children left alone in hotel for days, parents arrested, affidavit reads

Brooke and Victor Benavente each face five counts of child abuse after leaving their children unsupervised for five days, Greeley Police said.

GREELEY, Colo. — Two parents were arrested on Tuesday and face child abuse charges after leaving their five children unattended in a Greeley hotel room for more than four days, according to an arrest affidavit.

Greeley Police Department reported responding just before midnight on Monday night to room 332 in the Clarion Hotel at 701 8th St. for a welfare check, according to the affidavit.

Officers spoke with the oldest of six children, who said her five younger siblings between the ages of four and 16 had been left in the hotel room by their parents, 34-year-old Brooke Benavente and 37-year-old Victor Benavente, the affidavit says.

The oldest adult child who called police was not at the scene, according to police.

Credit: Weld County Sheriff's Office

One of the children staying in the room said they had been there for about four days, and their parents had not been checking on them during that period, according to the affidavit.

A child told officers their father had been released from jail in Larimer County on July 21 when their mother took her and her siblings to pick him up, the affidavit says.

They spent one night in Fort Collins, and then the affidavit says one child reported they checked into the Greeley hotel on July 22 before the parents left.

According to the affidavit, one child estimated seeing their mother every other day when she would bring drinks for the younger children or $40 for food, but said she did not check on the children once since checking into the hotel.

A child said neither parent had stayed in the room since July 22, the affidavit says.

The last time a child saw the mother was around noon on July 26 when she dropped off money for the children to use on food, and the affidavit says the child reported the mother would only meet in the hallway and would not go into the room.

The child also said they were concerned about being evicted because the room was not paid for the day of July 26, the affidavit says.

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The children were placed into protective custody and temporarily placed with the oldest adult child who called 911 and the family that adopted her, police said.

While the children were being transported, the affidavit says officers saw both suspects together in the parking lot of the hotel, and arrested them without incident.

Brooke Benavente faces five counts of child abuse, and bail was set at $3,000, according to the jail's website.

Victor Benevento also faces five counts of child abuse and a restraining order violation because the affidavit says Brooke has a protection order against him. His bail was set at $6,000, the jail's website says.

RELATED: Man accused of stalking woman, stabbing her brother arrested in Denver

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