Georgia father arrested after leaving kids ages 1, 6, and 10, alone at McDonald's while he attended a job interview

A Georgia father was arrested last week after leaving his young children unattended at a McDonald's while he went job hunting. Chris Louis, of Young Drive, was taken into custody on March 22 and has been charged with deprivation of a minor. Authorities said Louis left his kids, ages 1, 6, and 10, alone at the restaurant's play area so he could attend a job interview.

Law enforcement was dispatched to the McDonald's located at 2902 Washington Road in Augusta after a witness had reported seeing unaccompanied children in the indoor play area. The witness told authorities that Louis was observed entering and exiting the eatery several times beginning around 4:30 pm, the Augusta Press reported.

Around 6:18 pm, Louis arrived back at the McDonald's and was detained. He explained that he had a job interview and decided to leave his children at the playground because he did not want to make them walk back to his apartment while he attended it. Louis said he did not own a vehicle, according to police.

The children's mother arrived on the scene and picked them up while officers took Louis into custody.

After the news was shared on social media, several users opted to rally behind the dad, expressing sympathy for his circumstances. 

"Sounds like dad needs a hand not an arrest," one user argued on X. "Easy to arrest a guy looking for a job instead of real criminals. Who has the kids now? I trust them more at McDonald's than a CPS."

"If he was honestly just going to a job interview, then that's a dad just trying to provide for his kids. Sending him to jail is counterintuitive," another person commented.

A GoFundMe has since been set up to support Louis and his family, as numerous people called on the internet to "help this dad out."

While Louis has garnered some sympathy since his arrest, he has also faced criticism for leaving his children unsupervised.

"People defending him leaving kids 6 and 10 alone is bad enough, but a 1 year old...damn," one individual argued in the comments.

Another person added, "All you got to do is hire a baby sitter for at least an hour to do your interview, how hard is that? Why leave your kids at a McDonald's. Bad Dad, not a good father."