"Bronzed" NJ mom Patricia Krentcil pleads not guilty to putting daughter in tanning booth
(CBS) NUTLEY, N.J. - New Jersey mother Patricia Krentcil appeared in Superior Court in Newark Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to a child endangerment charge after allegedly allowing her 6-year-old daughter to tan at a salon.
Pictures: NJ mom accused of putting 6-year-old in tanning booth
CBS New York reports the 44-year-old did not speak during her brief court appearance, except to say "Thank you, your honor, have a nice day."
Krentcil has denied the charge, saying she would "never permit" her daughter Anna to go tanning.
"My client is 150 percent innocent," said Krentcil's attorney John D. Caruso Wednesday. "That child was never in that tanning booth."
The mother of five has previously admitted to bringing Anna into the salon but said she's never allowed the fair-skinned girl into the tanning bed.
"It didn't happen," Krentcil said. "She's 6-years-old. Yes, she does go tanning with mommy but not in the booth."
But according to prosecutors, Krentcil took her 6-year-old to a tanning salon near her home actually brought the child into a tanning bed, causing a slight sunburn.
When a school nurse asked how she got it, Anna simply said "I go tanning with mommy." Police were then called and Krentcil was arrested.
Krentcil calls it all a misunderstanding and said her daughter got the sunburn from playing in the backyard.
"Look at my daughter's picture, she's as pale as a ghost, she has red hair," Krentcil said outside court Wednesday. "I'm a great mother, I'm a wonderful mother. I would die right now for her."
Meanwhile, Anna is still living with her mother.
"She's home, they're not taking her away. She's home," Krentcil said.
Anyone under the age of 14 is prohibited from using tanning salons in the state of New Jersey.
Krentcil's next court appearance is set for June 4.
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