Rockland County Woman Charged With Leaving Son, 4, Tied To Bush
SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Rockland County mother was facing serious charges Tuesday, accused of tying her child to a bush while she went to babysit.
As CBS2's Steve Langford reported, Mery Isabel Quinde Castro, 22, did not want to face CBS2's cameras Tuesday. She was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Castro's 4-year-old son was found alone, tied to a bush outside a Spring Valley apartment block by his own mother. He was tied to the bush for about half an hour Tuesday morning – catching the attention of neighbors and then of police, Langford reported.
"Her child, this 4 1/2-year-old boy, did not want to go into the apartment," said Spring Valley police Chief Paul Modica. "So she tied him to the bush until she could get him into the apartment."
Modica said the little boy was tied to the bush using the leash to his backpack, when the mother was babysitting other children in the building. She decided the little boy needed some sort of time out, Modica said.
"Very troubling," Modica said. "I mean, there were so many other things she could have done with the child."
But Castro's sister said the young mother had no choice but to restrain the little boy – whom she called wild. She vowed that the suspect was not a bad mother.
"No, no, no -- she no did nothing wrong," said Rosa Quinde. "She is a good mother."
Neighbors who witnessed the little boy tied up by himself were not so forgiving.
"It befuddles me why she would tie a child up to a tree -- almost like a dog," said witness Len Alvino of Spring Valley.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Castro appeared in Spring Valley court, where a judge ordered bail set at $2,500. Her sister pulled out the cash with no hesitation, Langford reported.
The young mother answered no questions as she headed home to see the little boy. She was due back in court Thursday morning.