Arizona Father Sentenced After Leaving 4 Kids in 124-Degree Car While Visiting Adult Store

PHOENIX, ARIZONA — A 38-year-old father has been sentenced to four months in jail and 10 years of probation after leaving his four young children in a 124-degree car while he visited an adult store for nearly an hour in Phoenix.

The man, identified as Ascencio Largo, was initially charged with eight felony counts after police found the children sweating, overheated, and struggling to breathe inside a locked car outside The Adult Shoppe on South 24th Street.

Children Found in Extreme Heat

The shocking incident happened in July, when a passerby called 911 to report four children left unattended in a vehicle with the engine off and the windows rolled up.

“Officers recognized the danger this posed to the children and immediately gained access to the vehicle,” the Phoenix Police Department said in a statement.

Police body-cam footage showed officers giving the children water and placing them in an air-conditioned patrol vehicle to help cool them down.

All four children — each under the age of 10 — showed signs of heat exhaustion, with body temperatures between 99.7°F and 100.4°F, according to KPHO-TV.

“The children were in imminent danger of death in this situation,” prosecutors told the court.

Father Found Inside Adult Store

Officers soon discovered Largo inside The Adult Shoppe, reportedly appearing intoxicated and ignoring repeated announcements made by store employees about the vehicle in the parking lot.

When confronted by police, Largo at first denied owning the car before eventually admitting it was his.

“You could have exited that store to a car full of your dead children,” the judge told him during his first court appearance. “It indicates a strong level of reckless culpability.”

Police said the children had been trapped in the sweltering vehicle for nearly an hour as outside temperatures soared.

Sentenced but Spared Prison

Despite facing multiple felony charges, Largo ultimately pleaded guilty and received a reduced sentence — four months in jail followed by 10 years of supervised probation.

The court noted that while the children survived, Largo’s actions demonstrated a “shocking disregard for human life.”

“Man goes into porno store leaving his four children to die in their car — that’s the kind of headline this could have been,” the judge said.

The children were later released into child protective services custody.

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