Mom Who Chose Web Over Kids Gets Probation

A woman accused of letting her three children live in squalor while she spent up to 12 hours a day on the Internet was put on probation Tuesday and ordered to take parenting classes.

Sandra Hacker, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangering, was arrested June 14 in an apartment that officers said was strewn with broken glass and debris, with children’s handprints in feces on the walls. But officers noticed that the area around the computer was clean.

Hacker’s husband, Alexander Hacker, who is divorcing her, told police that his wife spent up to 12 hours a day browsing the Internet. He complained that their children - ages 2, 3 and 5 - were not receiving proper care.

Hacker’s lawyer, John Burlew, acknowledged that she spent long hours on the Internet. But he noted that the complaint was made by her husband because of bitterness between the couple.