A Salt Lake City man who left a toddler alone in a car for more than an hour in July while he caught a midnight showing of the new Batman movie has been sentenced to serve 30 days in jail and pay a $1,500 fine.
David James Farnham, 23, had pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to class A misdemeanor reckless endangerment for leaving his 2-year-old son, Justin, in a parked vehicle at a South Salt Lake movie theater while he attended a screening of "The Dark Knight."
In addition to jail time, Judge Judith Atherton on Tuesday ordered Farnham to complete 36 months probation, which includes continuing mental health treatment, no unsupervised contact with his son and staying current with child-support payments.
Prosecutor James Cope said pre-sentence investigators had recommended Farnham serve 90 days in jail, but that he recommended something closer to 10 days.
Defense attorney Margaret Olson did not immediately return a call requesting comment.
Police found the boy in the car around 1:30 a.m. on July 20 after a movie patron alerted authorities that the boy was alone, according to charging documents. He was found in his car seat, crying and sweating, the documents state.
When police stopped the screening to arrest Farnham, other theater patrons began jeering and throwing things at Farnham after learning what he had done, according to police reports.
Farnham told police he believed it would he all right to leave his son in the car while he watched the movie because the boy had fallen asleep, according to court documents.
The temperature inside the vehicle was estimated at 87 degrees when Justin was rescued, police said. The boy, who has recovered, was released to his mother. Cope said the mother has custody of the child and was never married to Farnham.
