Father Leaves Infant In Car While Getting A Lap Dance

A Van Nuys, California, father was arrested after reportedly leaving his 9-month-old baby in the car while he was inside a strip club getting a lap dance.

Auwin Dargin pleaded not guilty to one count of child abuse after his daughter was found inside his car, which was parked outside of a strip club, the Los Angeles Times reported. She had been inside the car for an hour.

Synn Gentleman’s Club Assistant Manager Matthew Nadeau found the baby after hearing her crying.

“We hear crying and then we saw a baby in the car,” Nadeau told the Los Angeles Times.

He and a waitress became suspicious after seeing a customer leave the club every 15 minutes. The car’s window was partially open, Nadeau said.

His cousin was able to squeeze his arm through the cracked window of the car and unlock the door. Once the door was opened, he removed the crying girl from her seat and handed her to the waitress. The waitress then gave the baby some water.

When management approached Dargin about the incident, he was allegedly receiving a lap dance and got upset at the interruption. 

“Just give me my baby, and I know I am messing up,” Dargin, who was 24 at the time, reportedly told Nadeau upon returning to his car.

Nadaeu refused to hand over the infant. He called the police and told Dargin to call his wife, adding, “You can leave, but you are not leaving with your baby.”

“I have daughters — over my dead body am I going to let you take this baby today,” Nadeau, a father of five, allegedly said to Dargin.

Dargin accused Nadeau of attempting to kidnap his daughter and then left the club without her.

Police arrived as Dargin was leaving and arrested him.

“I thought it was unbelievable,” LAPD officer Charles Chacon told KNBC. “I could not believe a father would put his child in that type of danger.”

Chacon said Dargin told officers he “was not thinking” when he left his daughter alone in the car.

The infant was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for mild dehydration. She was later placed in the care of Child Protective Services.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, KNBC / Photo credit: KNBC-TV/Telemundo52