Pregnant mother arrested and has three-year-old daughter taken into care for 18 hours after forgetting to pay for $5 sandwich



A couple had their three-year-old daughter taken into care for 18 hours after being arrested for forgetting to pay for a $5 sandwich while grocery shopping.



Nicole Leszczynski, who is 30-weeks pregnant, and her husband Marcin had been buying food at their local Safeway store in Honolulu, Hawaii, before they were separated overnight from their little girl Zophia.



Mrs Leszczynski said the ordeal was made even worse by the fact Zophia did not have any spare clothes or any other essential items when she was taken by Child Protection Services.

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Arrested: Nicole Leszczynski, left, was separated from her daughter Zophia, right, for 18 hours after forgetting to pay for a $5 sandwich

'This is unreal this could happen to a family like ours,' Mrs Leszczynski told local TV station KHON.



The Makiki resident told how she was abruptly parted with her daughter after a simple mistake, which was blown out of all proportion.



'We walked a long way to the grocery store and I was feeling faint, dizzy, like I needed to eat something so we decided to pick up some sandwiches and eat them while we were shopping,' she told KHON.



Mrs Leszczynski filled up the cart with her family and paid for $50 worth of groceries - but forgot about the $5 sandwich.

'It was a complete distraction, distracted parent moment,' she told the station.



Store security stopped them as they walked out and asked for their receipt, which was when the error was realised.



Rather than accept their offer to pay for the sandwich, the store manager called police and the couple were taken to the Hawaii Police Department's main station and arrested for fourth degree theft.



Zophia was taken into custody by Child Protective Services.



'When they notified us that they would have to take her because we both would be arrested, I just couldn't believe it,' she told KHON. 'She's never been away from us this long.'



Ordeal: Mrs Leszczynski, who is 30 weeks pregnant, said it was the longest times she had been apart from her three-year-old girl

Safe and sound: Zophia has now been returned by CPS but her mother remains outraged at such an overblown response to a simple mistake

Grocery shopping: The incident happened at this Safeway store in Honolulu, Hawaii

Mrs Leszczynski said that night was a sleepless one, spent fretting about her daughter.



She wrote of her ordeal on the website babycenter.com and hundreds of parents expressed their outrage.



'We didn't know where our daughter was, didn't know what the situation was, she didn't have any clothes they just took her right from the grocery store,' Mrs Leszczynski.



Zophia was returned to her parents 18 hours later.



Safeway Management issued a statement, reading: 'Safeway is aware of the incident and is working closely with the appropriate law enforcement authorities.

'The incident is under review but until the investigation is finalized it would be premature to comment.'



Mrs Leszczynski said she just hoped no one else has to go through a similar experience.



The couple plan to argue against the shoplifting charge when they appear in court in November.