By Jason Schwartz
Police recently arrested a local child therapist, who has appeared on the Dr. Phil show, on a child cruelty charge after she allegedly left a child at home unattended.
Karen Corcoran Walsh is alleged to have left her 11-year-old step daughter home alone after storming out of their Royal Palm Way home following an argument with her husband.
The child “was scared, when she walked out of the bedroom to find herself home alone,” the officer wrote in his arrest report. “She had no cell phone, no house phone, no house key or no note left saying where her mother had left to.”
The girl told police she left the home unlocked and walk barefoot to the guard.
“The road was very dark and unsafe for a child to walk at night alone,” the officer wrote.
The guard in the Royal Palm community called Walsh who allegedly told him she did not have “parental rights” and to call the girl’s father, according to the arrest report.
The guard called Boca Raton Police who ultimately arrested Walsh, 51, on child abuse charges.
Walsh, who runs the Inspiration for Youth and Families Center, which helps teens addicted to drugs, later told local media she was the victim of wrongful arrest and her lawyer said he hoped the charge would be dropped.
According to the arrest report, the incident began after Walsh and her husband and co-founder Christopher had an argument at their home.
During the row Walsh broke her husband’s cell phone and told him to leave the house. After he left, Walsh also walked out leaving her step daughter alone in the gated community.
Walsh’s attorney, Leah Mayersohn, said she’s working with the police to resolve the issue and have the charges dropped.
‘Why they arrested Karen is absolutely beyond me,’ Mayersohn said. ‘She certainly extricated herself from a situation that could potentially have been escalating, which was the right thing to do under those circumstances.’
She said the child was left alone in a safe, gated community for 20 minutes or less, and that Karen and Christopher Walsh each thought she was with the other.
Mayersohn said Walsh’s arrest could affect her future ability to work with troubled children.
‘She provides very valuable services to children and to adults in Florida who have suffered these issues,’ she said, ‘and this is a really terrible accusation.’
The Walshes, who have three children, have appeared on the “Dr. Phil” show.