Toddler Tied To Bush: Mom Ties 4-Year-Old Son On Leash To Bush While Working
A mom tied her toddler son to a bush in Spring Valley, New York so she wouldn’t miss a day of work. The 4-year-old boy was left alone on a sidewalk near an apartment building tied to a bush on his toddler leash, police report. NBC Channel 4 reveals that Mery Quinde-Castro was arrested and charged for misdemeanor child endangerment.
Quinde-Castro, a single mother, wasn’t willing to take a day off of her babysitting job Tuesday morning even though she couldn’t find someone to watch her own son, according to her sister — Rosa Quinde-Castro. Feeling she had no other choice, the mom brought her son with her, but tied him outside to a bush near the Blueberry Hill apartment complex. As the story goes, when the mother went to take out the trash, she took her son along, but he refused to come back inside the building. Authorities say it was then she decided to tie his plush backpack toddler leash to a bush before returning indoors to take care of the baby she was entrusted with. The toddler apparently had his mother’s cell phone so he could watch cartoons on it.
Spring Valley Police Chief, Paul Modica, said the single mother probably didn’t know how bad the situation could have gotten with the boy being tied to a bush without additional supervision.
“I don’t think she understood the gravity of what had taken place. It could have been bad.”
It was a neighbor who grew concerned after the child was left unattended for 45 minutes. Police were called to the scene, but the mom said her son was outside 10 minutes.
Rosa explains that her nephew is hyperactive and that he needs the soft leash to stop him from darting into traffic.
“She did nothing wrong. She is a good mother,” says the boys aunt — whom frequently watches him.
Police do report that the boy who was tied to a bush seemed well cared for and happy. There weren’t any signs of abuse and believe this was a case of “bad judgment.”
Modica added that this the toddler “could have disappeared, gotten hurt. It’s not the proper thing to do.”
Rosa says that her sister is working hard in order to support herself and her son after the boy’s father abandoned them. She insists that Mery would never do anything to hurt her child.
The mom who tied her son to a bush on a leash was released on $2,500 cash bail. She left the courthouse to pick up her son afterwards.
Photos of the toddler and his mother were posted on Twitter by Marcus Solis of 7 ABC News.
[Photo Credit: @MarcusSolis via Twitter]
