Mom who took girl, 5, tanning not indicted

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NUTLEY, N.J., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A New Jersey grand jury didn't indict a woman accused of allowing her 5-year-old daughter use a tanning bed, resulting in leg burns, prosecutors said.

Once the jury voted not to indict Patricia Krentcil, 44, of Nutley, N.J., on second-degree child endangerment charges, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said its involvement was over, CNN reported Wednesday.

"The decision to no bill the case became official today," Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray said in a statement. "That ends the Essex County Prosecutor's Office involvement with this matter."

Krentcil pleaded innocent last May to the child endangerment and was released on $25,000 bail. The girl has been in her parents' custody during the grand jury proceedings.

New Jersey law bans children under the age of 14 from using tanning salons.

Last April, school officials noticed burns on the girl's legs and reported them to authorities. After an investigation, Krentcil was arrested.

"We presented all the available evidence in the case to the grand jury, both the state's evidence and the defense's evidence. The grand jurors voted not to indict Mrs. Krentcil. We respect their decision,'' Assistant Prosecutor Gina Iosim, who presented the case to the jury, said in a statement.