Dec 20, 2007 9:53 am US/Central
Woman Abandons Boy In Mall As Punishment
Ernestine Willer Charged With Child Endangerment
CHICAGO RIDGE, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
A Willow Springs woman, hoping to teach her 6-year-old son a lesson, is facing a charge of child endangerment after leaving him at Westfield Chicago Ridge Mall, police said.
Ernestine Willer, 52, of 142 Santa Fe Lane, is charged with a misdemeanor count of endangering the health or life of a child for leaving the child alone at the mall for at least an hour Dec. 13, Chicago Ridge Police Chief Tim Baldermann said.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the incident.
Baldermann said the mother explained that the boy has a habit of wondering off and, instead of looking for him, she decided to punish him by leaving the mall, 95th Street and Ridgeland Avenue, about 6:30 p.m.
The boy apparently located mall security and told them he was lost, Baldermann said. Security officers then looked for Willer for about an hour before calling police.
Officers were able to contact Willer at her home at 7:45 p.m. Baldermann said the woman intended to wait until she was contacted by police before returning to the mall to pick up her son.
Police previously have been called to intervene with children lost at the mall or left unattended in cars in the parking lot, but those cases were never deliberate as a form of punishment, the chief said.
"It's not normally like this," he said. "It's very unusual."
Willer is scheduled to appear Feb. 5 at the Cook County courthouse in Bridgeview.
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(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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