Cops have arrested two Massachusetts teenagers for allegedly putting an infant they were babysitting into a refrigerator and posting a video of it to Snapchat.
The incident occurred in the town of Danvers on Monday, and the babysitters were charged on Tuesday according to the Essex County County District Attorney. Danvers is located about 17 miles north of downtown Boston. Nearby Swampscott police notified their Danvers counterparts about the video, prompting the arrest.
This all went down because the baby’s mom asked her niece and a friend to watch the baby for a few minutes while she took a shower, ABC Boston affiliate WCVB reported about the incident that is now making national headlines.
NBC Boston summarized what happened next.
“Video posted to Snapchat shows the accused girls putting the baby in the refrigerator, closing the door and laughing as the baby’s screams are heard through the refrigerator door. Moments later, they open the refrigerator and remove the baby.”
Fortunately, the eight-month-old girl was unharmed and is doing fine.
At their arraignment on Tuesday in Essex Juvenile Court in Salem, the duo were charged with child endangerment and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Authorities consider the refrigerator a dangerous weapon, the Boston Herald noted . The sitters were released into the custody of their parents.
“They thought it was a joke” – Babysitters face charges for putting baby in refrigerator @BethWBZ reports https://t.co/A9RKkccSV5
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) August 9, 2017
The baby’s mother acknowledged that she was horrified, shocked, angry, and traumatized about what happened. In interviews, she maintained, however, that her niece, age 15, and her friend, 14, had no intention of harming her daughter, suggesting that while the teens were behaving in a foolish manner, they should not face any legal jeopardy.
She also explained that the teens offered up a “believable story” that they opened the refrigerator door to get a bottle because the baby was crying, CBS Boston added .
That said, the baby’s mother also asserted that she would no longer leave any of her kids with her niece or anyone else ever again. ” I don’t want anyone near my child anymore,” she declared.
WCVB and CBS Boston aired these reports about the incident.
In addition to law enforcement authorities, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families is also investigating this case.
The girls can be heard laughing as the poor infant screams https://t.co/ndBabxv7Os
— New York Post (@nypost) August 10, 2017
As this is a developing story and additional facts may emerge. watch this space for updates about the Massachusetts teens charged in connection with allegedly placing baby into a shelf in a refrigerator.
[Featured Image by Nattanee.P/Shutterstock]
