An Illinois Day Care Worker was busted on child endangerment charges for leaving a 4-year-old boy in a frozen alley before planting him in a trash can.
Anna Petrou, 58, was arrested Thursday for placing the toddler in a hallway outside the Learning Lab Preschool & Childcare in Homewood for about 20 seconds when he refused to take a nap, According to the Homewood Police Department.
Police said it was about 19 degrees on the afternoon of January 13 when the incident occurred.
The alleged bad teacher was captured on video surveillance bringing the child back into the facility and putting him in the empty trash can as a form of punishment for other children and teachers, police said.
The boy’s parents reported the incident to police after picking up their son from daycare that day, ABC 7 reported.
“I was at a loss for words, especially when I reviewed the tape,” his mother, Monica Forte, told the outlet, adding that her son has been clingy since the incident.
“And my first one, of course, was that I’m crying. And I went to the police station. ‘
She hit Petrou, who claimed her form of discipline was a joke because she failed to properly de-escalate the situation. Forte said her children will not return to daycare and she is considering legal action.
“He did nothing wrong,” Father Justin Barnes told the outlet.
“It was just much worse than I could imagine. I worry about what he feels. “
Petrou was charged with endangering the life of a child, a misdemeanor, and was released from custody pending a future court date, authorities said.
The crazed caregiver was also fired from the school, along with a second employee who officials said did not say they did not intervene.
“We have tried to be collaborative and transparent with the family. We are working with our licensing agency, DCFS and the Homewood Police,” Learning Lab said in a statement to the outlet.
“We have shared additional information that we became aware of yesterday as we believe it warrants further investigation and possible action against the individual who did this. We also fired a second employee who did not comply. ”
