Mom free on bail after allegedly putting child in tanning bed - causing burns.
Through her attorney, Patricia Krentcil, 44, of Nutley, entered a plea of not guilty Wednesday in Superior Court to a charge of child endangerment. New Jersey law bars anyone under 14 from using a tanning salon.
Prior to the hearing, Krentcil called the accusation a lie.
"It's all made up," she said.
She told The Associated Press her daughter got sunburned by being outside on a recent warm day. She said her daughter, however, had mentioned to school officials when she complained of itching that she had been to a tanning salon with her mother.
Krentcil had told various TV stations her daughter was in the room at the salon but not in the stand-up tanning booth.
Her attorney, John Caruso, said outside court that Krentcil will be exonerated, because the evidence will show the child never entered the booth.
"Forget about the presumption of innocence; my client is 150 percent innocent," Caruso said. "She loves that child more than her whole life. She would never, ever allow her child to go inside a tanning bed."
The child is still living at home with her mother, Caruso told Municipal Court Judge Roslyn Holmes-Grant, though he said the state's child welfare agency is monitoring the family.
Krentcil said she loves tanning and has visited salons for many years but would not do anything to jeopardize her daughter's health.
"Never in my life would I endanger my child by putting her in a tanning booth. I'm not dumb," she said before her scheduled hearing. Outside court, she called herself "a wonderful mother."
Police in Nutley told The Nutley Sun newspaper they were called to the child's school April 24 because the kindergartner was in pain from a "pretty severe sunburn."
Krentcil remained free on a $2,500 cash bond. She is scheduled to make her next court appearance on June 4.
From reading her "I'm not dumb" statement and looking at her picture, well, something's not right.
Quoting Euphoric:Her tan scares me.
I'm glad I read this. I hadn't really followed the story, and thought she did get the girl a fake tan. Looks like the mom's addicted to the tanning beds (other addictions sound like much much more fun to me, but whatever)...but at least she's not as horrible of a mom as I was thinking. How embarrassing for the little girl though!
I don't know who is telling the truth here. Some said that the little girl had a sunburn. Of course the tanning salon people are going to back up the Mom because she spends so much money there. She has "tanorexia", a documented addiction according to Doctors. I believe it. She looks like old leather, so dark it looks scary.SHe goes a little too often. SHe will end up with skin cancer. And I bet she won't even quit then. Its a mental illness. If she let her kid spend time in a booth to get a tan,she needs a visit at a jail for a while.
there is no proof she did it. arresting ppl for a kid getting a sunburn is not a good idea. granted she is freaky with the tan but that dont mean she tanned her kid... I am crazy about hair color lol been every color of the rainbow I always have it died since I was 16 but guess what my kids cant until they are adults and or old enough to fully understand the risks associated with it. I love piercings and tattoos that dont mean my kids will have either until they are 18...
From the other pictures I have seen that depth of tan is fake.The picture below is her tanned color it seems. It seems she may need make up lessons.
Quoting Euphoric:Her tan scares me.
Louis D. Brandeis
Is Yoga a religion?
- Stephanie329
on May. 6, 2012 at 11:04 PM