Look, I’m all about taking time for yourself and getting a little relaxation time alone for moms. It’s incredibly important to allow yourself the time you need and to practice some self-care. But at the same time, you have to do it in a way that isn’t detrimental to yourself or your family. New Jersey mom Leola Dualuqua is facing charges after deciding that her need to blow off some steam at a casino was more important than the safety of her toddler.
The mom reportedly left her little one alone in a locked car for hours while she went and had a good time. Now, she’s learning an important lesson about making responsible choices when it comes to your children’s safety.
She drove to Pennsylvania to gamble.
Bensalem Township Police were called to the parking lot of the Parx Casino around 9 p.m. on April 14, 2026, for a report of a child left alone in a car, Fox 29 reported.
When they arrived, they found a 14-month-old in the back seat of the locked car. The windows were closed, and the car wasn’t running. Police said the toddler was sleeping but also visibly sweating, as outside temperatures had reached the mid-80s that day.
Officers were able to get the child out.
Bensalem EMS took the child to a hospital for evaluation. The child was later released to his father, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Parx Casino security worked with Bensalem police to investigate the situation. They discovered that the 37-year-old mother left her child unattended in the car around 6:30 p.m. and never went back to the car. Dualuqua was found inside, still actively gambling.
Dualuqua was taken into police custody and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and leaving a child in an unattended motor vehicle, per NBC Philadelphia.
She was arraigned by District Justice Corryn Kronnagel and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10% of $25,000 bail, WPVI reported.
Dualuqua is an educator.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Dualuqua has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in education, Bensalem Weekly reported.
Since October 2024, she has taught at Willingboro Public Schools in Burlington County, New Jersey. Months before her arrest, she posted on her profile that she wanted to pursue a doctorate in education. She called it a commitment to creating change.
The post included a link to a GoFundMe account that would help raise money for the program, but it has been deleted.
People didn’t hold back expressing their feelings about Dualuqua.
The Facebook group Whats Up BENSALEM shared the story, and commenters had a lot to say about it.
“If she does that to her own kid, imagine what she might do with special education kids that aren’t even her own blood,” one person wrote.
“Was she hoping he died? She has to have seen the 100’s of examples over the years of children dying under these circumstances,” someone else added.
“Crazy there’s signs all over the parking lot telling you not to do this and they run digital banners all throughout the casino telling you that you will be arrested. They should just execute people like this on the spot,” another person pointed out.
“She should lose her child & her job!” someone else chimed in.
“If you can’t take care of your kids, please don’t have them,” another person commented. “Such a poor excuse of a ‘so called’ mother.”
