UNNAMED GIRL - 3 yo (6/2014)/ Charged: Nanny; Christine Nunes - Long Island NY

Nanny Who Allegedly Locked Girl in Car to Shoplift at Target Indicted

Friday, Jul 25, 2014 • Updated at 2:51 PM EDT

The Long Island nanny accused of leaving a 3-year-old girl inside a hot, parked car while she shoplifted from a Target store last month was indicted Friday on reckless endangerment and petit larceny charges, according to the district attorney's office .

Nassau County police say Christine Nunes left a child in the back seat of a locked Dodge Caravan while she went into a Target store at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville on June 24.

Police say a passerby noticed the child and called police. Officers said the girl was sweating and visibly hot. She had been in the car about 35 minutes with the windows rolled up.

Temperatures were in the low 80s but officers said it was over 100 degrees in the car.

The child was treated for dehydration at a hospital and released.

Nunes pleaded not guilty to the charges at her June arraignment. Her lawyer said mental health issues may have been a factor and that requested a psychiatric evaluation.

"When this defendant made the choice to leave a toddler in a car on a hot and sunny summer day, she knowingly put the life of the little girl in her care at risk," Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in announcing the indictment Friday.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Nanny-Lock-Child-Car-Shoplift-Nassau-County-Christine-Nunes-268630012.html