An Osceola County woman is accused of using her child to beg drivers for money near a busy intersection in Celebration.
Lucica Anton, 38, was arrested on Saturday for "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" after an Osceola County sheriff’s deputy responded to a call of a woman seen sending a child into traffic to knock on car windows and ask for money.
It happened at the corner of Blake Boulevard and Celebration Avenue.
According to the arrest report, once the light turned red, Anton would hand a cardboard sign to the 10-year-old, put her hand on his back and encourage the child to walk into traffic.
As the deputy was pulling up Anton and her son were sitting along the curb – their legs in the road, a car having to swerve to avoid hitting them. Anton then quickly hid the sign from the deputy.
While the deputy was questioning Anton, the boy said:
“It’s OK, my friend, I know what I am doing. I do it all the time.” Then he added, “I’ve done it before and my mom said it’s OK.”
Anton responded: “What else am I supposed to do? My husband dropped [us] off so we could get money.”
Anton was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail and has since bonded out.
The child was turned over to his father and the Deptartment of Children and Families was contacted to keep an eye on this case, which will be moved to South Florida where the family is from.