Washington Man Leaves Small Children at Home, Faces Charges

A Lakewood man faces about a year in prison after being convicted Friday of leaving his two young children alone in a squalid apartment while he went to work.

The News Tribune reports Judge Vicki Hogan found 25-year-old Quintin Dublin guilty of two counts of criminal mistreatment after a bench trial in Pierce County Superior Court.

Hogan ordered Dublin taken into custody pending his April 24 sentencing hearing.

Deputy prosecutor Robert Yu says Dublin faces a sentence of 12-14 months in prison.

Court records show a maintenance worker found the children, then 3, and 5, home alone when he was checking out a water leak. They were left home while he was working at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The children are now living with their mother out of state.