Mom Charged For Putting 2-Year-Old In Dryer

A mom has been charged for putting her 2-year-old son in a dryer. Jasmine Brown, age 17, was arrested and charged with felony child endangerment for running the clothes dryer with her young child inside.

The mother, from Gates, New York, reportedly turned the dryer on and left it running for around 30 seconds before someone else turned it off and removed the child.

As reported by N.J. News, authorities arrived and assessed the boy’s condition. He was treated at the scene by paramedics as he did not suffer any serious injury.

The incident happened at St. Joseph’s Villa, which has a residential facility for teen mothers and their young children. The Villa provides a “group home setting” with a program to help the young women succeed. The program offers assistance with school completion, vocational training, mental health counseling, and parenting classes. Brown and her son are reportedly residents of the facility.

Brown may have used poor judgment in putting her 2-year-old son in the dryer, but countless children are injured in clothes dryers every year. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that appliances, including dryers, can become death traps.

A majority of the incidents occurred when children have climbed inside dryers and were unable to release the door from inside. Older dryers, in particular, are less likely to include safety latches.

A child inside a running dryer, even briefly, can be seriously injured or killed. The spinning can cause serious injury, and the heating element can cause severe burns.

Brown’s son did not suffer any serious injury, but authorities have taken the boy into protective custody and contacted children’s services. Authorities are seeking a protection order.

The mom plead not guilty for putting her 2-year-old in the dryer, and is being held in Monroe County, New York Jail in $50,000 bond.

[Image via Wikimedia]