Abandonment charges dropped against adoptive mom

Charges of abandonment against a single mother who had given her mentally handicapped son to social workers were dropped Tuesday.

Cheryl Holley, 42, who gave up her 12-year-old son in January, no longer faces criminal charges. Hillsborough County Judge Gaston Fernandez ruled that the boy qualifies as "a child in need of services."

Her son, whom Holley adopted at age 5, suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and is mentally handicapped. He was sexually molested as a young child and, for the past seven years, has been acting out sexually against other children and adults.

Judge Fernandez scheduled a March 11 hearing for more discussion about a plan for the boy's care.

Click here to read the Feb. 12 story about Cheryl Holley and her son.

- Times staff writer