Mother Didn't Do Anything Illegal By Putting 18-Month-Old Daughter In Care Of Stranger, Police Say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police are working to find out how a toddler got abrasions over her face. The toddler's mother, Desiree Frederick, left her in the care of a stranger over the weekend, but neither that stranger nor the mother are facing charges.
Police say charges could be filed but they're still investigating. What is clear is a lot of people think Frederick is not winning any parent of the year awards after leaving the 18-month-old girl with an unknown person.
Cellphone video posted online shows a man confronting a woman who, police sources confirm, is Frederick.
"You shouldn't have left her there," the man says in the video.
Investigators say the Kensington woman left her baby with a stranger Saturday morning on E Street, and, after several hours, never returned. A day-and-a-half later, the public led police to the 35-year-old woman.
"We did get an outpouring of information," said Philadelphia Police Capt. Sekou Kinebrew.
Police questioned Frederick Sunday and eventually released her, but before police knew who the baby belonged to, they released a photo of the toddler late Saturday night.
The girl has what looks like sores on her forehead and an abrasion on her nose.
Police couldn't say what the marks are or how she got them, but if officers find the marks are the result of an adult's lack of care, officers say charges could be filed.
"We're still trying to track just to make sure we don't leave any stones unturned. We want to track the child's whereabouts from the immediate time before the mom drops the child off, the time she was with the concerned citizen and the time police are flagged down. We have to nail that down, obviously, because we still have to explain, at some point, how the child got the scratches on the forehead and make sure nothing happened while the child was in the care of the person who ultimately notified us," said Kinebrew.
Police say Frederick didn't do anything illegal by putting her toddler in the care of another adult, even a stranger, but now Frederick's family has the toddler and they're working to make sure they can care for her permanently. Neighbors also want to see that happen.
"I just hope the little girl is OK and she's in better care now," said one person.
Another said, "The child definitely needs a better home."
CBS3 asked police where the toddler's dad is in all of this but were told the father was never brought up during the investigation.
