Patricia Krentcil, 44, left, stands with her lawyer John Caruso during a court appearance on charges of child endangerment at the Essex County Superior Court today in Newark, N.J. Krentcil is accused of taking her 5-year-old child into a tanning booth. Krentcil tells The Associated Press her daughter got her sunburn from being outside on a recent warm day. New Jersey state law prohibits anyone under 14 from using tanning salons.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)DAVID PORTER,Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – A woman whose own skin is deeply bronze-colored from regular visits to a tanning salon has been accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth in violation of state law, burning the girl’s skin.
Through her attorney, Patricia Krentcil, 44, of Nutley, entered a plea of not guilty Wednesday in Superior Court to a charge of child endangerment. New Jersey law bars anyone under 14 from using a tanning salon.
Prior to the hearing, Krentcil called the accusation a lie.
“It’s all made up,” she said.