It’s probation for mother of home-alone boy

MEDIA COURTHOUSE » The mother of an 8-year-old boy who started a fire after being left alone in an apartment has entered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, a special pre-trial probationary program for nonviolent firsttime offenders.

Potehboe K. Suah, 33, of Upper Darby, will be placed in the 12-month program and perform 32 hours of community service rather than face charges of endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person. She will also pay $200 immediately and make additional monthly payments toward the cost of the program.

Police and firefighters were called to the 700 block of Ashland Avenue about 6 p.m. March 11 after a neighbor smelled smoke and heard the young boy screaming. First responders found the child outside holding a burned roll of paper towels. He explained that he had been playing with a lighter when the paper towels caught fire.

There was no damage to the apartment and no injuries were reported. The child indicated his parents had been working all day but an uncle was supposed to arrive around 7 p.m.

The uncle did arrive about 6:10 p.m. and stated that he had been at a store “around the corner,” according to police. Suah was contacted by phone and told officers she had been at work, but her boyfriend had gone to a McDonald’s restaurant about 10 or 15 minutes earlier.

The boyfriend indicated he had spoken to the child on the phone but was not watching him that day, according to police. An investigation determined the young boy had been left alone for most of the day.