A Mesa woman has been accused of leaving her 6-year-old daughter at a park with homeless people.
Police say the woman then left to have sex with different men.
43-year-old Laurie Lee Kelly allegedly told officers she's addicted to sex. Police say she told them she knew was putting her daughter in danger but couldn't help herself.
Kelly is facing child abuse charges after allegedly abandoning her 6-year-old daughter at a central Mesa park -- leaving the little girl with some homeless people. She stood in the heat with no water for more than two hours.
Police say Kelly bought the homeless people some beer in exchange for babysitting her daughter. According to court paperwork, Kelly confessed to leaving her daughter at the park and then to going to "make money" by selling herself for sex. A witness noticed the little girl all alone and called police.
Neighbors who live next to Kelly say she struggles to make ends meet working different jobs. According to court records, she works at Mesa School as a teacher's assistant.
Officers say Kelly told them she put her daughter in danger to go have sex because she felt a "maniac sexual rage inside" of her which she cannot control.
Statement by Mesa Public Schools
Laurie L. Kelly is employed by Mesa Public Schools as an instructional assistant at Whitman Elementary. She has been assigned to home with pay, pending the outcome of a district investigation. The criminal allegations against her are serious, and if substantiated would be grounds for immediate termination per district policy.
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