Chattanooga mom arrested after four children found in hot car

photo Tiara Jenkins

A woman was charged with four counts of child abuse and neglect Monday afternoon after allegedly leaving four children younger than five years old in a hot car outside the Hamilton County Courts building.

Tiara Jenkins, 22, told officers that an unidentified woman was taking care of the children while she attended to a legal matter with her mother inside the building.

Officers found discrepancies in Jenkins' story, and she later admitted that the children had been in her care and said that she called her sister to come take care of the children because it was taking too long inside.

The children, aged one, one, four and four, were "far too young to take care of themselves or call for help if they became distressed," an officer wrote.

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