Hall E.S. teacher Charles Clemons Jr. accused of leaving son unattended to work out

A fifth-grade Bridgeport teacher is on administrative leave after being arrested Friday for allegedly leaving his 4-year-old son home alone while he went to the gym. Charles Clemons Jr., 40, has been

News 12 Staff

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Sep 24, 2014, 1:22 AM

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Updated 3,638 days ago

A fifth-grade Bridgeport teacher is on administrative leave after being arrested Friday for allegedly leaving his 4-year-old son home alone while he went to the gym.

Charles Clemons Jr., 40, has been charged with a felony count of risk of injury to a minor.

Trumbull police say Clemons left his house on Ironwood Road at 7 a.m. Friday and went to work out at a nearby gym in Shelton.

Almost a half-hour later, police say the boy ran to a neighbor for help when the alarm system went off.

There was no fire, and the boy was fine.

Several neighbors said that leaving the boy alone was totally out of character for Clemons, who teaches at Hall Elementary School and is the head basketball coach at Harding High School.

"He's very good with his kids," said neighbor Vin Zichichi. "I mean prior to this incident, I would say he's a model father in terms of the time he spends with the kids."