Woman Sentenced for Child Endangering

A Panorama City woman was sentenced to 200 hours of community service, two years’ probation and parenting education classes after she pleaded no contest to leaving her three children--the youngest 18 months old--alone in her apartment.

Dora Ortiz, 28, was sentenced late Thursday by Van Nuys Municipal Judge Martin Suits after she entered her plea to one count of child endangering, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

The charge against Ortiz stemmed from a case dating back to May 17, when, according to authorities, LAPD Van Nuys Division officers responded to a neighbor’s tip that the children--ages 10, 9 and 18 months--were alone in their Willis Avenue apartment.

The officers were told by the 10-year-old girl that her mother regularly left her and her two younger brothers alone at the house, according to Dan Kleban, the deputy city attorney who handled the case.

The officers also reported that the apartment was infested by ants and cockroaches, Kleban said. The children initially were taken to the Van Nuys station and were later turned over to the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services.

Meanwhile, officers remained at the apartment and arrested Ortiz when she returned home at about 1:20 a.m., Kleban said. Ortiz was booked and released.