Mother Allegedly Puts Son, 10, Outside in the Middle of the Night for Punishment: Police

PHOTO: Julia Brandt, 31, was charged with felony child neglect, according to police. FCPD photo

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FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- Police say a mother may have intentionally put her 10-year old son outside in the middle of the night as some sort of punishment.

Fairfax County Police said they were called early Friday and arrived shortly before 2 a.m., after a report of a boy outside crying on the deck of his home in the Kingstowne area. Police reported that the boy was crying and knocking on the door to be let inside. Temperatures at that hour were in the 40s. Police did not say how long the boy had been outside.

Officers arrived and a 12-year-old standing next to the 10-year-old, now covered in a blanket, answered the door, according to police. The mother was inside the home in another room, police said. An investigation determined the mother allegedly intentionally put her child outside the home, according to police. 

Julia Brandt, 31, of the Alexandria area, was transported to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center and charged with felony child neglect (18.2-371.1). Custody of the children was arranged with a friend of the family, police said.

General area where incident took place, according to police (Google map):