ROME — A Utica mother and her boyfriend have both been charged after leaving a toddler alone in a locked car while they were in a Rome restaurant Monday afternoon, according to the Rome Police Department.

Police said a passerby spotted the 18-month-old in a car seat inside a locked vehicle with the windows up outside Mitsuba on Black River Boulevard at about 11:40 a.m. The passerby waited 15 minutes before calling the authorities because there were no adults around.

Rome Police and Rome Fire responded to the scene and authorities said it was still another 10 minutes before the mother, 35-year-old Italia C. Larocco, of Utica, and her boyfriend, 38-year-old Garry P. Rose, of Whitesboro, came out of the restaurant.

Larocco and Rose have both been charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, police said. They are scheduled to appear in Rome City Court.