Stealing from a baby is a whole new level of low, but that’s what police say the Bronx’s Desire Santiago did to 18-month-old Amia. The daycare worker was caught on a surveillance camera removing 14K-gold and diamond earrings from the girl’s ears after a coworker left the room, reports the New York Daily News. Santiago, 21, is herself the mother of a 2-year-old girl.
The video shows Santiago cradling Amia’s head after taking the earrings and then putting the girl down once her coworker came back into the room. When Amia came home from daycare without her earrings, dad Andrew Santana went ot the center to see what happened. Santiago said Amia had been missing an earring an the other ear was swollen and red so she took it out. The center’s directors looked at surveillance video; Santiago to be fired and later arrested. She’s been charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
Santiago doesn’t deny taking the earrings off the baby but said she didn’t try to steal them. Her lawyer Carol Carter said, “It was just about nap time for the children. The baby’s ears became swollen and the baby wouldn’t go to sleep, so she took the earrings off.” Police recovered the earrings but the Daily News didn’t report where.
Family members say Santiago had been living in a homeless shelter in Queens with her own daughter. Her grandmother is seeking temporary custody of the little girl. This is a bad situation for everyone involved. If Santiago did actually try to steal the earrings, it’s kind of understandable why she did. If she didn’t, it’s a shame the circumstantial evidence looks so bad.
