WATERVILLE, Maine — A Waterville couple is accused of tying one of the children they were baby-sitting to a coffee table because she wasn’t behaving, according to police.
Police were called to a Sherwin Street apartment around 11 p.m. Wednesday after they received a call informing them a 2-year-old girl had been tied up by Martha Blanchard, 49, and Daniel Post, 51, according to Waterville Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey.
Blanchard and Post had volunteered to baby-sit the toddler and her three male siblings, ranging in ages from 1 to 6 years old, when the trouble occurred, according to Rumsey.
The couple grew agitated with the girl when she kept trying to get into their refrigerator, Rumsey said.
“The way they chose to handle it was taking a 10-foot nylon rope and tying her down to a coffee table in the living room,” Rumsey said.
The helpless child had nowhere to go at that point and Blanchard and Post left her unmonitored, according to Rumsey.
“The rope was bound around her and the coffee table so that she couldn’t get up,” Rumsey said.
Post was so agitated with the child’s behavior that he went to another apartment in the building and informed a female acquaintance what was going on, Rumsey said.
That women went to Post and Blanchard’s apartment and called police when she saw the scene.
“Her clothing had been soiled and she had been there for some time” by the time police arrived, Rumsey said.
Officers contacted the Department of Health and Human Services and interviewed Post and Blanchard, who were cooperative with authorities.
The girl and her male siblings were turned over to their mother’s custody after police determined they were not injured.
After consulting with the district attorney’s office Thursday, police charged Blanchard and Post with endangering the welfare of a child, a Class D misdemeanor, Rumsey said.
Blanchard and Post were not arrested, but face a penalty of up to a year in prison if convicted. They are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 4.
Thats it? Criminal restraint. Look it up DA’s office. Wow
What in the world is wrong with these people, clearly enough so that they shouldn’t be allowed around children. Criminal restraint, as tasemebro says, should be the charge.
more things with children in waterville. where is baby ava
This is insane!
This is sick.Turns my stomach!!
Did these 2 people have kids of their own and do they vote?.. I’m hoping NO is the answer.
Thank goodness there are people around who aren’t afraid to report the abuse. People have to be more aware of who they are leaving their kids with.
Are these two adults related to Sally Schofield? Maybe not…Schofield specializes in Duct Tape and High Chairs. What a bunch of depraved morons.
“You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody’s crazy.” Charles Manson
I’d be curious to know how well the children’s mother knew the people she left her kids with. Sounds like not well enough.
IT was her mother and she know what was going on
You don’t even have to have children to know this is not how to deal with a young child. What is wrong with some people?
I hope those two do not have kids? If so they should be taken away right away! I hope they get locked up for some time. I think they are the ones that have to be watched.
Oh, wow. Not in WATERVILLE!!!!
How did we become a society where crimes against children are misdemeanors?
Probably she was hungry if she was trying to get into the refrigerator. What a bunch of losers. The mother should not have the children back. Evidently she left her family with someone real reliable. This is a sad story for these children, what chance do they have in life with adults in charge like these. I blame the mother as well as this not too bright couple.
Why do you blame the mother? Most likely she didn’t know this was going to go on. There are MANY parents who leave their children in the care of people they trust. There are day care centers around this country who have done parents and children wrong. Parents leave their children in the care of people who they feel they can trust. There are many shady people out there who do not show their true colors out in the open. Look at child molesters, domestic violence perpetrators and murderers.
These children should be taken care of by people who the mother knows are reliable and responsible. You do NOT leave your children with just anyone. This all took place after 11:00 pm. These little ones should have been home in bed. The mother should always be responsible for her children.
The police were called around 11PM. It appears to have happened earlier in the evening. How do you know the mother left her children “with just anyone”? How do you know if the mother may have been working, her babysitter backed out on her and these people came forward and volunteered? Perhaps they live in the same neighborhood. Since we don’t know the whole story, no one should be jumping to conclusions. The children were released back to the mother, so obviously the police and DHS didn’t see a problem at the time. If she had come to pick them up after a night of partying, they might not be so agreeable to do so.
I can’t believe you are standing up for this mother. You also have no idea where she was. Could have been work, bar, partying or whatever. That does not matter to me, what matters is that she left her children with people who were not reliable. What if this baby had somehow got the rope around her neck or been injured in some other way. Parents have a responsibility to their children first and foremost and she did not do her part as a caring mother.
OBVIOUSLY SHE DIDN’T KNOW THE PEOPLE WERE NOT RELIABLE. Maybe you know something about this couple that others don’t……including the mother. Years ago I had a woman come into my home to watch my children while I worked. NO ONE knew she was a closet drinker….not even me, until I found an empty alcohol bottle at my house. NO, her breath did not smell, nor did she exhibit any actions of being drunk.
And given the details of this article, I can form whatever OPINION I want about the mother, just as YOU can. Like I said, maybe you know more about this couple than the rest of us???
No the kids are not with the mother
Hilary lived there with them and was at the bar ever night
WOW! Then she DID use bad judgement. Very bad. And if the kids are not with their mother, I hope they are with people who will make sure they are being taken care of properly.
I hope you and jobieday understand what I was basing my opinion on…….this news story and what was contained in it. I am sure I am not the only one who took this incident the same way as I did.
I’d sure like to know more about this incident. Were the children’s parents and these folks close? How often had these people “baby sat” for this family or others. What was so important (at 11PM) that the parents had to leave these children in questionable care? Did the parents leave a number where they could be reached? What would D.H.H.S have done if the “babysitters” had called them and explained that they were babysitting a child who was too much for them to handle?
As a society we need to have safeguards in place for our youngest children. Do we have them? Do they work? Are they effective? Do people know what to do when overwhelmed by the responsibilities of child care?
It doesn’t say the children were dropped off at 11PM.It states that the police were called at 11PM. “Her clothing had been soiled and she had been there for some time” by the time police arrived, Rumsey said.
not arrested? thats cruelty to a child! people are arrested for cruelty to animals, tell me what i’m missing here?