Posted on 08/10/2017 9:39:48 AM PDT by Architect of Avalon
Two teen babysitters are facing child endangerment and assault charges after a disturbing video was reportedly posted online that appeared to show them laughing while putting a crying baby into a refrigerator and shutting the door, authorities said.
The girls, whose names were not released because they’re juveniles, were babysitting the infant in Danvers on Monday when the shocking video was posted to Snapchat, according to published reports.
The video, which was picked up by news outlets around the country, appeared to show the girls putting the crying infant sideways into a shelf inside the refrigerator, closing the door and laughing while the baby can be heard screaming inside.
After several seconds, the girls can be seen taking the baby back out and one of them can be heard laughing and saying, “See she’s OK.”
Essex District Attorney spokesman Steve O’Connell said Danvers and Swampscott cops were notified Monday of an incident involving an infant, and the two girls were placed under arrest.
The girls were arraigned Tuesday in Essex Juvenile Court in Salem on charges of child endangerment and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
“The refrigerator was the dangerous weapon,” O’Connell told the Herald yesterday.
In a statement yesterday, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Children and Families said the agency “received a report on this situation and is investigating in collaboration with law enforcement.”
A Swampscott woman believed to be a relative of the baby declined to comment outside her home last night.
In an interview with WCVB-TV (Ch. 5), the baby’s mother said one of the girls was her niece.
“My daughter is OK, I want everyone to know that I was not aware of the situation and it’s very unfortunate,” she said. “It’s very foolish. ... They didn’t do it trying to harm my daughter, they did it as, like, playing around.”
The mother added, “I will no longer be leaving my children with my niece or her friend ever again in my life.”
That the girls were said to have recorded the alleged abuse on video and decided to post it online came as a shock to many Danvers residents.
“It’s really disgusting,” said Al Mailloux, 72, of nearby Lynn. “What happened to the morals of kids? I just don’t understand. I just don’t know what these two were thinking. Obviously, they weren’t.”
A man who would identify himself only as Joe, 44, of Peabody, said he hoped the girls would face serious consequences.
“They should be punished,” he said. “The justice system needs to do something.”
It sounds like the girls were just goofing around, and meant no harm to the child. It was a joke, like many that you see in youtube or wherever. It was probably deserving of some stern talk, and no more babysitting jobs, but maybe criminal charges are a bit over the top. IMHO
I would not be happy if they did this to my child, but does it really need the authorities involved?
Sick.
Not much to get excited about.
I have known people to lock their children in dog crate because the children want to play I am a dog.
Taken out of context it would have looked like they were being mistreated.
I'm trying to see it from your perspective but I can't get my head that far up my azz.
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I don't think that the baby thought it was funny.
Some of the speculation about the girls that brought the charges were the consumption of 'shrooms, or the "natural LSD" that can occur in grains.
Perhaps these girls were on more modern psychotropic substance(s)?
Great job, moms. You raised two little vidiot monsters. I’m sure you’re proud...
Once they posted the video on-line,for laughs, they made it a case for the authorities.
.
I think there is something wrong with some of our young people today. Amorality, nihilism; that “game” (the knock-out game?) where teens swarm some innocent person.
Is it the lack of fathers in the home? Or, as you mentioned, youtube and the Internet (i.e., make a crazy video and get attention online).
There are a lot of great kids out there, but there are some who appear to have no empathy or an appreciation of life.
The girls were arraigned Tuesday in Essex Juvenile Court in Salem on charges of child endangerment and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
“The refrigerator was the dangerous weapon,” O’Connell told the Herald yesterday.
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What the girls did was stupid. But this O’Connell retard???
Stupid plus stupid.
The problem is we basically have a generation that has no proper concept of the boundaries of right and wrong. Or socially acceptable behavior, because all behavior is acceptable now.
In the past, being stupid has not actually been illegal.
If the rules have changed, Maxine Waters should be worried.
I agree it wasn’t nice, but hardly was it criminal. Lord knows I thank God daily there were no cameras back when I was young, the things my and my siblings did to each other, just out of silliness or stupidity or whatever would fill a criminal docket these days.
This is a teachable moment, not a criminal investigation.
In a saner time in history kids like this would have 'disappeared'.
I think there is something wrong with some of our young people today
I was fighting this battle for years, I got to see my kids every evening, about 2 hours for dinner, TV chat, good night time. They have a good upbringing but current school and social media is influencing them 14 hours a day.
“Is it the lack of fathers in the home?”
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Absolutely not,it’s modern,amoral society.
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The worst part is that they considered the baby screaming to be “Funny”.
“..... the girls were just goofing around, and meant no harm to the child. It was a joke.””””””””””””
Stupid does as stupid is, or however that goes. In plain English, “dumb asses”.
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