A Texas woman has been charged after police say she left a 3-year-old child alone in an apartment while she went out drinking.

Justice Lee Moncibaiz was arrested Wednesday and charged with abandoning a child with intent to return, according to court records.

The case dates back to Sept. 20, when Abilene police were called to an apartment complex on Hartford Street after neighbors found a young child sitting alone at the bottom of a staircase wearing a soiled diaper. Officers traced the child back to a nearby apartment and entered through an unlocked door, where they found no adults present.

Police said the child was unharmed but clearly unattended. Inside the apartment, officers located mail identifying Moncibaiz as the resident. They contacted her, and she arrived at the scene roughly 40 minutes later, according to the criminal complaint.

Moncibaiz initially told officers she had left the child with a relative but was unable to provide a name or contact information. When investigators followed up with other family members, they were told the person Moncibaiz identified either did not exist or had not been around for years.

During a subsequent interview with detectives several days later, Moncibaiz allegedly admitted she had left the child alone. According to the complaint, she told police she “needed a night out” and went to multiple bars with a friend.

Court records do not explain why authorities waited more than three months to make the arrest.

Moncibaiz was taken into custody Wednesday and booked into the Taylor County Jail. She posted a $5,000 bond the following day and was released. It was not immediately clear when she is scheduled to appear in court next.

The case remains under review as prosecutors move forward, and child welfare authorities continue to assess the circumstances surrounding the abandonment.