Mother Sonya Hendren faces prison for letting 4-year-old son Tomahawk play outside on own

The mother was arrested after neighbours reported her son was playing alone in their gated community 120ft away from her flat

Sinya Hendren let her son, Tomahawk, play in their gated community 120ft away from her flat (Elke Noda, Flickr)

A mother is facing prison after she let her four-year-old son play outside on his own.

Sonya Hendren was arrested for child neglect after a neighbour, Sonja Horrell, reported her to authorities.

Ms Hendren, of Sacramento, California, let her son, Tomahawk, play in a small park area in their gated community, 120ft away from her flat.

“He was outside and a neighbour called the cops on us,” she said.

“We have a Child Protective Service case now and every time he’s not in my visual site we’re in violation."

Speaking to CNN, Ms Horrel said: “I thought she would just get a warning... and she wouldn’t let them be out alone again.”

She said she did not mean the family any harm.

Ms Hendron’s attorney said that if the prosecution proceeded with the charges, they must prove that she wilfully placed Tomahawk in danger.

“If this happened 20 years ago, we wouldn’t be here," she added.

"There wouldn’t be a criminal case filed."

Ms Hendron could face a maximum sentence of six months in prison, with three years of probation.

Her charges have been reduced to misdemeanours, but she said she was fighting to have them dropped.

She was reportedly offered an alternative deal of just 30 days in prison and one year of probation, but she rejected the offer.