JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A mother pleaded no contest Friday to leaving her 2-year-old daughter alone in a locked apartment while she was jailed and was sentenced to 18 months' probation.

Dakeysha Lee, who had been accused of leaving the girl alone for 19 days, entered a plea to one count of child abuse under an agreement with prosecutors. She had been charged with child abuse and child neglect and could have received five years in prison for each.

Duval Circuit Judge Henry Davis withheld adjudication in the case, which means Lee will not have a criminal record if she successfully completes the terms of her probation. She is required to take a parenting class, receive a psychological evaluation, perform 50 hours of community service and pay $338 in court costs.

The no contest plea only deals with leaving the child alone on Sept. 10, 2003, the first day Lee was jailed on unrelated charges. The girl's father, Odgen Lee, says he found his daughter alone in his estranged wife's apartment on Sept. 29, 2003.

He said he had been unable to contact his wife for about two weeks and did not know she was in jail. After finally talking with her, Lee said he tried to find the youngster after the mother told him she had left the child with a neighbor. When he had the apartment manager open the apartment, he found his daughter.

The youngster was lying nude in a baby's bathtub, covered with a towel and was watching a TV cartoon channel, he said. She was filthy and covered with dried ketchup and jelly.

The child managed to open the refrigerator and get into the pantry, eating anything she could find, including dry spaghetti and macaroni. The floor was covered in eggs, urine and feces. The child was treated at a hospital for dehydration and was malnourished.

"I'm glad it's all over with," Dakeysha Lee, 23 said after Friday's hearing. When asked about her plans, she replied, "to get my daughter back." The girl is with her father.

Lee's attorney, Rodney Gregory, disputed the amount of time the child did not receive care.

"We do not believe that child was home alone for 19 days," Gregory said. "Those allegations are unproven." He wouldn't discuss what he believes happened.

Prosecutors said Dakeysha Lee did not tell authorities her daughter was home alone when she was jailed for aggravated assault and petty theft. She had been accused of attempting to take a bag containing $200 from a nail salon and then threatening an employee with a box cutter. Those charges were later dropped.

Ogden Lee, who is in the Navy and is now stationed in Virginia, did not appear at his wife's sentencing. He is seeking a divorce and has custody of the child.

Lee had a friend read his statement in court which said the child is doing well and is attending preschool, where her social skills have improved and she has been potty trained.

"This ordeal has brought me and my daughter closer," Lee's statement said.

Assistant State Attorney Libby Senterfitt declined to comment on the plea.

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