NUTLEY, NJ (WCBS) - A New Jersey mother has been charged with child endangerment after police said she put her young daughter in a tanning bed.
"I've been tanning my whole life, going to the beach, tanning salons and so forth," said 44-year-old Patricia Krentcil.
The 44-year-old mother of five told WCBS-TV's Derricke Dennis that she loves to tan – and may even be addicted to the procedure.
And while she arguably pushes her own skin to the limit, she is adamant that she would never tan her 6-year-old, fair-skinned daughter, Anna.
However, Nutley police arrested and charged Krentcil with child endangerment, for allegedly taking Anna with her to a tanning salon and into an actual tanning bed, causing a slight burn.
Krentcil said that, for one, there's not room for it in the tanning, beat and secondly that she would never allow it.
In fact, Krentcil argues her daughter's sunburn was not from getting into a tanning bed, but from playing outside in the sun.
Still, when the school nurse asked Anna how she got her burn, she said, "I go tanning with Mommy."
The girl's mother argues that while the six-years-old does go tanning with her, the girl does not actually come into the booth.
In fact, when Anna was asked if she liked to suntan, she replied no.
"The whole thing's preposterous," said Krentcil, when asked about the charges she is facing.
However, she said that while the incident has darkened her favorite hobby, she plans to continue tanning.
