When you become a parent, you also become responsible for another person’s life. You must provide them with food, clothing, shelter, love, and care. The days of doing whatever you want whenever you want are over. Of course, most people accept this level of responsibility with open arms and want nothing more than to love their baby. Others don’t think they have to do anything and choose to leave the hard work to others.
When a concerned West Virginia citizen saw a small child wandering around in nothing but a diaper, that person knew the child needed help and called police.
Officers arrived on the scene.
According to a news release from the Saint Albans Police Department posted on social media, officers were sent to the Kanawha Terrace area of Saint Albans on April 15, 2026. A concerned resident wanted to help a young child wearing only a diaper. The child guided the good Samaritan to their home, where officers tried to alert someone inside. When no one answered the door, the person called 911 for help. Police arrived a short time later.
Police initially had trouble getting someone to open the door.
Police attempted to draw the attention of an adult inside the home but were unsuccessful at first. A child eventually opened the door, and officers began to search the home, according to the news release. They found 42-year-old Mark Blake Jr. asleep upstairs and identified him as the child’s father. While talking to the officers, Blake reportedly made a strange remark.
“This isn’t my deal,” Blake allegedly told police. “I don’t watch kids.”
Unsurprisingly, the police arrested Blake.
Police took the father into custody and booked him in the South Central Regional Jail on a $25,000 cash bond. He faces a charge of child neglect, creating a risk of injury, per the news release. That’s actually not the most shocking part of the story. According to police, Blake was “on bond for a similar incident from August of 2025.”
The father’s arrest infuriated the community.
Many shared their disgust for Blake’s behavior in the comments section of the police department’s post on Facebook.
“I am a mother of 9 kids… there is no excuse for that!!! Bring me that baby,” someone wrote.
Others could not believe what Blake said to the officers.
“’This isn’t my deal, I don’t watch kids,’ Sir, it is your deal, you had kids. That is literally the most basic part of the ‘deal,’” someone pointed out.
The fact that Blake apparently neglected a child in the past really bothered people.
“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me is this exact situation!!” another comment reads.
We can’t help but think of an old Chris Rock bit talking about dads who brag about caring for their kids. The comedian very eloquently said, “You’re supposed to.” Maybe Blake should pull that one up on YouTube and watch it a few hundred times.
