Father allegedly left baby in car to go to gentlemen's club

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles, California, father is facing charges after police say he left his 9-month-old daughter in a parked car while he visited a strip club.

Auwin Dargin, 24, parked his car outside of Synn Gentlemen's Club and went in for a lap dance.

The Los Angeles Times reported that assitant manager Matthew Nadeau grew suspicious when he left and returned to the club every 15 minutes.

While Nadeau patrolled the parking lot around 2 p.m. March 9, he heard a child crying.

The car window was partially open.

Nadeau and a waitress worked to unlock the car through the cracked window.

The waitress took the baby, and Nadeau notified his manager, who interrupted Dargin's lap dance to tell him his baby was found.

Dargin tried to leave, but Nadeau said he told him, "I have daughters. Over my dead body am I going to let you take this baby today."

According to Nadeau, Dargin argued with another customer and tried to leave without his daughter, but the police arrived and arrested him.

"I thought it was unbelievable. I could not believe a father would put his child in that type of danger," Officer Charles Chacon told KNBC.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Dargin pleaded not guilty to a child abuse charge Monday.

Dargin is due back in court May 3.

Cox Media Group