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Mother accused of letting 5-year-old daughter use tanning bed

Alex Myers Contributor
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A New Jersey teacher called the police after overhearing a 5-year-old student say “I went tanning with mommy” and now mom Patricia Krentcil faces second-degree child endangerment charges.

Krentcil is due to appear in court Wednesday after being arrested for allowing an underage child into a tanning bed. However, the 44-year-old mom told NBC New York her daughter, Anna, was never exposed to the UV rays.

“I never once in my life let me daughter, especially at that age, go into a tanning booth,” Krentcil told ABC News.

Anna showed up to school on Tuesday with a sunburn and the school nurse attributed it to the tanning salon, but Anna’s father said: “It was 85 degrees outside, she got sunburned. That’s it. That’s all that happened.”

Krentcil, who is out of jail after paying $25,000 bail, said she’s been going to the salon for ten years and never once has her daughter’s presence been an issue. However, officials say she took the little girl into the booth without the salon’s permission.

Because of the harmful effects the rays could have on children, no one under the age of 14 in New Jersey is allowed to tan at indoor salons.

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