A Clayton County father charged with neglect after his 6-year-old son went missing has a record of household problems.
Moses Yumbi Ngalahom, 55, remained jailed Friday on $25,000 bond. He was arrested late Thursday and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after reporting his son, Andrew Ngalahom, missing.
Andrew was later found safe. The child is now in state custody, pending an investigation. Georgia Department of Family and Child Services spokeswoman Ravae Graham would not discuss the case.
"He reported his son missing Thursday morning," Clayton County police spokeswoman Lt. Tina Daniel told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He said he hadn't seen his son since Wednesday."
"There does appear that there were significant signs of intoxication" on the father's part, Daniel said.
Ngalahom told officers he had last seen his son playing outside their Riverdale home at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. The father said he fell asleep and awoke to find the child missing.
A family member in Barrow County contacted authorities after seeing a missing child report on TV news and told them Ngalahom had released his son into her care earlier, police said. Ngalahom did not recall the relative picking up the child, they said.
Ngalahom has been arrested twice before, on family battery charges.
On Feb. 26, 2006, he was accused of punching his wife in the eye during an altercation, then taking her purse and leaving their Riverdale apartment. He was arrested and released on $7,000 bond, eventually pleading down from battery and theft charges to disorderly conduct.
One condition of Ngalahom's six-month probation was that he have no contact with his victim. But he had that condition changed by citing his desire to continue to live with his wife and his infant son, according to court documents.
On July 9, 2009, Ngalahom was again charged with battery, for allegedly biting a woman. It is unclear from court records whether the woman was his wife.
He was sentenced to 12 months' probation for that offense.
Ngalahom is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on the latest charge Feb. 20.
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