LAROSE, La. -- A Houma man was arrested last Wednesday after Lafourche Parish deputies found his three-month-old baby left alone in his car while the man was gambling, according to Lafourche Parish Chief Deputy Bud Dill.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office

Craig Bychurch was arrested after police found his child strapped in his car, alone, while he was gambling.

Deputies were alerted after concerned bystanders called in to complain. After arriving at the scene, Dill said they found the baby unattended and strapped into his car seat in the parking lot of Larose Casino. The deputies went inside the casino, where they found Craig Bychurch, 27, gambling. After interviewing Bychurch, deputies found that the baby had been in the car for at least an hour.

Deputies took the child from the car and brought the baby to the mother, who was working at the time.

Bychurch was charged with cruelty to a juvenile and his bond was set at $10,000. This was not his first run-in with the law, Dill said; he has at least 10 arrests on his record, including failing to register as a sex offender.

The sheriff’s office commended the bystanders who called in to complain, saying “we greatly depend on the eyes of the public to assist law enforcement in addressing despicable acts, such as the case of this child being left alone, unattended by a parent.”