Parole officer checking home finds boy, 5, left alone

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Updated: May 5, 2011 1:56PM

When a parole officer went to a northwest suburban home for a routine check on a parolee Tuesday morning, he found only a 5-year-old boy, who had been left alone with a religious candle burning.

The parole officer called McHenry Councy Sheriff’s police, who responded to the home in the 2600 block of Highwood Road in unincorporated McHenry.

The boy told authorities his grandfather and father had left him alone about 9:15 a.m. with the candle burning near him, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.

When the men returned about 90 minutes later, they were arrested and charged with endangering the life or health of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, the release said.

Arrested were Alex A. Martinez, 69, the boy’s legal guardian and grandfather; and Nathan L. Green, 25, the boy’s father, both of the Highwood Road address, the release said.

The state Department of Children and Family Services took custody of the boy, who was not injured.