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Teen Mom Who Left Baby in Church Nativity Scene Won't Be Charged, DA Says

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | November 27, 2015 10:49am | Updated on November 29, 2015 7:46pm
 The newborn child was found in this Nativity scene at a Queens church and taken to hospital.
The newborn child was found in this Nativity scene at a Queens church and taken to hospital.
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DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

QUEENS — The 19-year-old mother of a newborn boy who was found in the crèche of a Richmond Hill church's Nativity scene earlier this week will not face criminal prosecution, officials said

The unidentified woman, who also told investigators she picked the church because she was sure the baby would be found safely, told investigators she did it because she wasn't able to take care of him, officials said.

The baby,  who still had his umbilical cord attached, was discovered by a caretaker of the Holy Child Jesus Church at 111-11 86th Ave. around 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Police canvassed the area around the church and found several surveillance videos showing the woman, eventually helping them to locate her, police said.

One of the videos showed her walking into the church with the baby and exiting a few minutes later without it, police said.

Another video, from 99 Cents & Up Market, on the corner of Jamaica Avenue and 112th Street a block away from the church, revealed that she bought a towel at the store about 1 p.m. Monday, police and a clerk at the store said.

The Queens District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that after interviewing the woman, prosecutors “determined that no criminal prosecution of the child’s mother is warranted.”

The DA’s office also noted that “the mother followed the spirit of New York’s ‘Safe Haven’ Law which allows a parent to leave a child not older than 30 days with an appropriate person or in a suitable location where the parent promptly notifies an appropriate person of the child’s location.”

“It appears that the mother, in this case, felt her newborn child would be found safely in the church and chose to place the baby in the manger because it was the warmest place in the church, and further she returned the following morning to make certain that the baby had been found,” the DA’s office added.

Photo: Father Christopher Ryan Heanue