Erin Lee Macke, [photo], at her sentencing in Iowa on Thursday. She was spared jail time and given two years of probation instead for leaving her children home, alone and unsupervised for nearly two weeks, while she travelled in Europe

A mother-of-four from Iowa who left her children, ages six to 12 at the time, home alone for 11 days while she vacationed in Europe was sentenced to two years of probation.
Erin Lee Macke, 31, entered an Alford plea in February to four counts of child endangerment.
Had the case gone to trial, she could have faced up to eight years in prison.
The Des Moines Register reports that Judge Carol Egly gives Erin Macke a sentence of two years probation on four counts of child endangerment on Thursday, April 19, 2018, at the Polk County Courthouse.
in essence, the Alford plea means that the accused person isn’t pleading guilty in a true sense, but admits that the prosecution has sufficient evidence for a conviction

Mom on the spot: Erin Macke making her court appearance Sept, 2017. She was arrested at the airport on her return.

Macke had also been charged with one count of making a firearm available to a person under age 21, but prosecutors agreed to drop it as part of the deal.
During Macke’s sentencing on Thursday, her ex-husband, Matthew Macke, testified that it took Erin six days to return home from Germany after being informed that her children had been removed from the home by police: ‘Erin refuses to admit that her choices put the children at a substantial risk of harm,’ Matthew Macke said.
Related:
Globe trotting Iowa mom arrested on child abandonment! Erin Macke left four young kids home alone, with a gun, while she vacationed in Europe

Macke’s four children are pictured above on the first day of school in August. Her 12-year-old twins are on the left, and her seven- and six-year-old daughters are on the right were all abandoned by their 31-year-old mother in Sept, 2017, while she vacationed in Europe with her friend and her friend’s children

After the hearing, Matthew told KCCI his ex-wife has yet to accept responsibility for intentionally leaving her children without supervision.
Earlier this month, Matthew was granted custody of the two youngest children, whom he had fathered. Custody of the other two older kids has not been decided yet.
Macke did not issue a statement in court, but her defense attorney pointed a finger of blame at the fathers of her children, accusing them of fueling ‘drama’ in this case, reported the paper.

The What a blast! Erin Lee Macke posted  photos of her German vacation on social media, after she had been ordered home and failed to comply

Defense lawyer Michael Oliver had asked for a deferred judgement, which would have allowed the conviction to be expunged from Macke’s record upon the completion of her probation, but the judge denied the request.
There is a no-contact order in place for Erin pertaining to her four children, but Judge Carol Egly suggested that the defendant get counseling so that the order could be adjusted to allow her some contact.
Police have said Macke tried but failed to make child care arrangements for her kids – two 12-year-old twins, one child aged seven and another aged six at the time – before leaving on September 20, 2017, for a vacation in Germany.
The father of one of the children was called by his child the next day, and he called police. The children were alone for 24 hours before family members took them in.

Macke posted this photo of bratwurst during her first day in Germany in Sept, 2017

Erin Lee Macke is seen with her two youngest children whose custody has now been handed over to their dad, her ex-husband, Mathew Macke

Police in Johnston, Iowa conducted a welfare check on Macke’s house on September 21, 2017, after receiving a tip that her kids were without any adult supervision.
They found that not only had the children been left alone, but that they had been left alone with a gun out in the open.
According to the criminal complaint, Macke left an unloaded Glock 9MM handgun on top of her dresser, next to two magazines – one fully loaded and one partially loaded.
The children told police that their mom had left for Germany the day before, and didn’t plan to return until October 1.

Macke is pictured above with her two oldest children, 12-year-old twins, their custody issue is yet to be decided.

Erin Macke posts of her good times in Germany while her four young kids were left home alone, has attracted a lot of negative commentary, especially from her ex who says she has refused to take reponsibility for her actions

When police called Macke abroad, she said that all of her babysitters fell through so she decided to leave the kids home alone.
‘Investigators confirmed that Macke had made no arrangements to provide adult supervision or care for the children while she was away,’ the police department said.
Police told Macke that was unacceptable and ordered her to return home immediately.
But she only cut her trip short by four days, returning to the US in September 27. She was arrested the next day.
Photos posted on Macke’s Instagram in late September showed her touring Bavaria with a female friend and a baby, eating bratwurst and sight-seeing.
Public records indicate that Macke filed for divorce from her ex, Matthew, in 2013.

Body builder mom Macke, last year May, competed in a bikini competition

Another photo from the bikini competition shows the mom-of-four on stage in a bikini 

A victim advocate also read a statement sent from Texas by Matthew McQuary, the father of Macke’s other two children. Echoing many of Matthew Macke’s arguments, McQuary said Erin Macke has blamed and criticized both fathers when speaking to the children: “Erin does not feel any remorse or responsibility for her actions,” McQuary said, through the victim advocate.
Macke on her part thanked the court for hearing her side of the case, but did not speak in court other than to say she has expressed her views of the case in the presentence of investigators, which is not accessible by the public.
Michael Oliver, her attorney, said Macke made a mistake and should be allowed to rectify it. He said animosity between the children’s parents has painted Macke in a worse light than she deserves.
“The drama that has surrounded this case has been fanned by the fathers in this case,” Oliver said.