Almost eight months after a Blacksburg toddler died of heat stroke in his parents' car, a Montgomery County grand jury has indicted the boy's mother on charges of involuntary manslaughter and felony child neglect.

Mary Nelson Parks, 45, was indicted Wednesday in the death of her son, Juan Parks. The charges -- both felonies -- were made public Monday. The manslaughter charge could carry up to 20 years in prison and the neglect charge could carry up to 10 years in prison.

Court records show Parks was released on a $5,000 secured bond.

David Rhodes, the Christiansburg lawyer representing Parks, released a statement Monday calling the death accidental and saying the family had cooperated fully with investigations by both police and social services.

"This heartbreaking loss continues to deeply affect everyone involved," Rhodes wrote in the statement. A hearing in the case could come as early as July 28.

Wythe County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Mabe was appointed special prosecutor in the case last year when Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Brad Finch recused himself because of ties to the Parks family.

Mabe has not discussed the case since September and did not respond to a message left Monday seeking comment on the length of time that passed between the death and the indictment. During that time, some in the community have rallied around the family.

"We continue to love and support this family with all our heart," said Kristi Snyder, director of Rainbow Riders child care center. "We have embraced them since it happened ... this is going to be a hard thing to get through. But we will continue to be here for them."

Snyder called Juan's death a "tragic accident."

According to Blacksburg police, Mary Parks found her son unresponsive in her car about 5 p.m. Sept. 7 when she went to collect him at Rainbow Riders, located on North Knollwood Drive.

Jan Null, a California meteorologist who consulted on the investigation, said in September that police told him the mother meant to drop the child off at Rainbow Riders, but proceeded to work instead. At approximately 5 p.m., she arrived at the center to pick up the child, but was told the child had not been dropped off, Null said.

Workers at the day care center called 911 and performed CPR on Parks' son, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy performed by the Roanoke medical examiner's office found that the boy, who was younger than 2, died of hyperthermia, commonly known as heat stroke.

Outside temperatures that day were about 88 degrees, Null said. In those conditions, a young child can succumb to heat in as few as 15 minutes, he said.

Last year 35 children across the U.S. died of heat stroke after being left in vehicles, Null said Monday. So far in 2008, three children have died similarly. In 76 percent of these cases, the children were 2 or younger, Null said.

Recent studies conducted by The Associated Press and Wake Forest University family law professor Jennifer Collins reveal wide disparities in criminal prosecution for these incidents. Some of the statistics indicate sex and class bias may play a role.

Both studies show that mothers of the children are charged more often than fathers. Collins' 2006 study of data from 1998-2003 showed that in 130 cases, 60 percent of mothers were charged, compared with 44 percent of fathers. AP data published in July show that mothers are often given longer jail sentences.

Family income also seems to be a strong indicator of who will be charged in the deaths of children left in parked cars. Of the 51 cases where Collins could ascertain the socioeconomic status of the parents involved, only 23 percent of those who could be classified as white collar were charged, compared with 85 percent of parents who could be classified as lower income.

Other factors can lead to prosecution, including alcohol or drug use by a caregiver or parent, or a history of abuse or neglect, Collins has said.

But overall, about half of the parents are not charged. Last year Ohio authorities declined to press charges against a school administrator whose 2-year-old daughter died after being left for hours in the mother's car in a school parking lot.

In 1990, Roanoke prosecutor Donald Caldwell declined to charge a Botetourt County mother whose 2-year-old daughter died in a vehicle. Caldwell was quoted at the time as saying "I don't think that society could punish her any more than she's already punished herself."