WATERBURY, Conn. — As she has been criminally charged, a Waterbury middle school teacher remains on leave as the school system conducts an investigation into exactly what happened the weekend before Thanksgiving, when she allegedly left her two young children home alone for the entire weekend with no supervision.
Kerry Lyn Caviasca, 36, of Watertown, who is a social studies teacher in Waterbury, stands accused of leaving her children, ages 11 and 9, home alone for an entire weekend, while allegedly requiring them to stay in the basement as she and her boyfriend flew to Florida.
"I’m very surprised," said Caviasca's new neighbor Dr. Terry Baney.
Baney and his wife are in the process of moving in next door to Caviasca, who has, at least temporarily, lost custody of her kids.
RELATED: Distribution warehouse to be built in Naugatuck Valley area with Amazon as prospective tenants
"I read some of it in the newspaper and heard some of the news about that situation," he said. "I had no idea it happened to be the woman who lives next door."
Caviasca was arraigned on two counts of risk of injury to a child and reckless endangerment in Waterbury Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon.
"Today was just the initial step in this matter," said attorney Joseph DeCicco, who represents Caviasca. "The state is providing my office with the requested information which we are going to take our time now to examine."
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the children's father obtained text messages between the kids and their mother from that November weekend, including one where the daughter asked the mother what they should eat for dinner and Caviasca's reply was "candy."
"I mean, no child should be put in that kind of a situation," Baney said.
In another alleged text, the son asks his mother "can I pee" Her response: "quick no lights."
"The state judge did have this matter sent to family violence to have it screened to see if a protective order could be issued," said Evelyn Rojas, an Assistant Waterbury State's Attorney.
But, this case is not deemed to be domestic in nature.
"It would be nice if everyone involved could somehow you know get the assistance they need," Baney added.
Caviasca allegedly told police her brother was with the children while she was gone, but the kids, after initially confirming that, told their dad and police their uncle was not with them at all that weekend.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.