While the rape cop trial has garnered lots of publicity as more and more details have been revealed during the last couple weeks of the trial, a different rape case which hasn't been given much publicity has quietly come to a close. An elite FDNY paramedic, who was accused of raping a drunken 15-year-old he had offered to help "sober up," pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child, and will avoid jail time as a result. more ›

So what if you give your 13-year-old kid enough cash, credit cards and food for a week while you're in a foreign country for business because the police will still arrest you. Winnie Chaffee found out the hard way after spending a week in Taiwan—and keeping her adolescent daughter solo in their Croton-on-Hudson home without adult supervision—when she was charged with misdemeanor child endangerment. Her lawyer calls this an "unfortunate situation" for the single mom. more ›

Two Pound Ridge, NY parents have been arrested for keeping their 17- and 19-year-old sons, both of who suffer from autism, in "extremely unsanitary conditions." But parents Jean and James Yates say cops overreacted to an apparent "holding pen" they had built for their 17-year-old so he "doesn't roam around at night and hurt himself." James Yates told LoHud, "This is a soccer net so he wouldn't climb over it. He's not strapped in, and is happy as can be." more ›

Bringing your "uncontrollable" six-year-old child to the police station to frighten her into behaving well probably seemed like a good idea, but when Annette Gerhardt and Gerardo Santiago actually did that with their daughter at the 120th Precinct on Staten Island, they got arrested for child endangerment. Gerhardt reportedly said, "I can't take her anymore... She is uncontrollable. I'm going to leave her here. If you don't take her, I will take her to the firehouse." Gerhardt says she winked at the cops so they'd know she was kidding, but the Finest thought the aggrieved parent was playing it straight. more ›

A Long Island babysitter has been arrested after ignoring the warnings on a generic brand of Benadryl and giving the allergy medicine to a 4-month-old in her care. But there's something to be said for paranoia, because Anneliese Brucato was caught by the girl's mother on one of four hidden cameras placed around their home. Nassau County Detective Lt. Kevin Smith said Brucato gave the child the medicine, which isn't supposed to be administered to anyone under the age of four, "in order to cause the child to become drowsy, to make her more manageable and to perhaps make her job easier." more ›

At her bail hearing yesterday, Judge Philip Maenza agreed to cut Sarah Haines' bail from $100,000 to $10,000. Haines has been charged with second-degree child endangerment after leaving her 12-year-old daughter home alone for a week with $10 and three dogs. Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez agreed with the bail reduction, but said the state would need help in assuring Haines would return for future proceedings. She told the court, “This is a defendant who recklessly abandoned her child and abdicated her parental responsibility,” and noted there were “prior incidents where this defendant left the child home with other people (to care for the girl) and left the area for long periods of time." more ›

The New Jersey mom accused of leaving her 12-year-old home alone for a week while she flew to Washington to get married is expected at a bail hearing this afternoon. Though a friend checked in on Sarah Haines' daughter three days after she left, neighbors became worried for the child and called the police. Investigators found the house a mess and reeking of animal urine. Haines claims she never intended to stay away that long, but her flight got canceled and she was forced to take a bus home. She was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and is being held on $100,000 bail. more ›

Come to think of it, this is probably how all of those "Home Alone" movies would have really ended. A New Jersey mother was arrested and charged with second-degree child endangerment after leaving her 12-year-old daughter by herself for a week so she could fly to Washington to get married. Sarah Haines, 31, left her daughter in their Mount Olive home with three dogs and $10 to last her all week, and court papers say her daughter was "afraid to shower because she was scared since the front door unlocks itself." Perhaps the mom was just trying out this whole free range kid trend? more ›

Police have charged parents Karill Savery, 30, and Leonardo Reyes, 34, with endangering the welfare of a child after they left their 8-month-old son in a parking lot on East 161st Street in the Bronx yesterday. Ezra Isiah Reyes, left in a stroller, was spotted by sunglass vendors sitting outside the courthouse, who brought him into the DA's office. Vendor Lorenzo Carse told the Daily News, "I'm a father. How could somebody leave their child like that?" Actually, they simply forgot. more ›

An 11-month-old baby is in critical condition after suffering second degree burns over 30% of her body, and her mother's boyfriend was arrested. The Queens DA's office says that Anthony Parra, 20, was watching the baby and her two-year-old sister while their mother was at work. When Raylin Castillo refused her bottle, Parra allegedly punished her by placing her under a shower and turning up the water's heat twice and pouring even hotter water from the kitchen sink over the baby. more ›

Bus driver Roberto Isales and matron Ruth Thames were supposed to drop off little Adrien Long at the Infant & Child Learning Center in Prospect Lefferts Gardens yesterday morning. But driving a bus and minding children can be exhausting, so around 7:30 a.m. Isales parked near his Brighton Beach home and retired for a nap. Thames went home, too. But they both forgot one kinda important thing: Adrian was still in the bus, which—to make matters worse—was unlocked. more ›

All has been quiet on the James Madison High School front since three teachers were put in the rubber room last year for various sex scandals... until now. The Brooklyn school that the press has endearingly dubbed "Horndog High" is back in the spotlight after 37-year-old gym teacher Lisa Guttilla felt up a 14-year-old female student. more ›

Disturbing details surrounding the death of an 11-month-old Brooklyn baby: According to the Daily News, the parents put "their 8-year-old son in charge of four younger siblings"—ages 6, 3, 2 and the baby, Major Gonzalez—while they went shopping 11 miles away at the Target in Queens. more ›

Nassau County police have found the mother of the baby abandoned in a Hempstead building lobby; Newsday reports the police arrested Xiomara Gamez, 25, "on charges of reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child and abandonment of a child." The baby girl was found by a building resident on Sunday night and appeared to be less than a day old. She was wrapped in a blanket and left in a Timberland shoebox, with dental floss tied around her umbilical cord. Gamez will be arraigned today. NY State does have a Safe Haven law that allows parents of unwanted babies to leave them in safe places; safe havens are hospitals, police stations and firehouses. more ›

The godmother of a 3-year-old boy and her boyfriend reportedly admitted to prosecutors that they beat the child, who died on Friday. However, Nymeem Cheatham and Lemar Martin, who are being held without bail, did not confess to killing Kyle Smith, who was found with cigarette burns, bruises all over his body, a torn tongue, a broken pelvis, and signs of sexual abuse. more ›

Colin Leahy, who never made it past the audition round during the third season of American Idol, is accused of having "inappropriate interaction with students" at P.S. 236 in Brooklyn. Leahy, a 23-year-old school volunteer, was charged with two counts of child endangerment. more ›

Queens DA Richard Brown announced that a 34-year-old Woodside resident will be charged with second-degree murder, second-degree assault, and child endangerment after killing his wife and stabbing his young daughter on Sunday night. more ›

A former math teacher at MS 190 in Forest Hills was arrested for child endangerment after allegedly sending former and present male students lewd instant messages. Bradley Dieffenbacher, 33, of Long Island, had worked at MS 190 since 2000 until his resignation on February 14, when investigators confronted him. more ›

Queens DA Richard Brown announced an off-duty NYPD detective and his girlfriend were charged with promoting the prostitution of a 13-year-old Brooklyn runaway. Brown said, “This case is every parent and every child’s worst nightmare – made even more frightening by the fact that one of the defendants is a police officer who swore to uphold the law and protect the community he serves.” more ›

A Staten Island man arrived at his Clifton home to find four teen boys having sex with his 11-year-old stepdaughter and her 13-year-old friend. The stepfather called the police upon finding the naked teens. The boys, ages 16 to 18, were charged with first- and third-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, the FDNY responded to a fire that broke out in a Midwood apartment building, only to find two girls, ages 1 and 2, alone. The girls' mother had left them with her boyfriend, who went out. Sigh. more ›

We're sure that one Long Island father thought to himself, "If I can't use my for a urine test, I'll use my child's urine..." when he decided to take his 9-year-old out of school. The problem is, Suffolk police officers happened to be passing by the deli where the 36-year-old father and son were and became suspicious when they saw "the child fixing his pants and watched as the father poured something from a coffee... more ›