Omaha father who left boys in van overnight gets probation

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An Omaha man who left his two preschool children in a minivan overnight during a strong thunderstorm while he got drunk has been sentenced to probation.

Charles Bibbs, 29, was given three years’ probation Tuesday. In a plea agreement, Bibbs pleaded guilty to one count of intentional child abuse.

In June, Omaha police found the boys, ages 4 and 5, and a dog in the unlocked van in a library parking lot.

Bibbs told police he left the boys there, with the van running, around midnight to go drinking in a bar, forgot about the boys and went home with a woman he met in the bar. Just hours before leaving the boys, Bibbs had been released from prison for a fourth-offense drunken driving conviction.

The children have been named wards of the state.