Photo courtesy of Quakertown Borough PD/Crimewatch
The defendant told police she 'forgot' her baby was in the car as temperatures inside reached 117 degrees.
A Bethlehem mother, initially charged with felony child endangerment after she forgot her baby was in her car in July, as temperatures reached 90 degrees, pleaded guilty in Bucks County Common Pleas court to numerous summary offenses and received under one year of probation as her punishment.
Janelle Loveless, 33, was charged by Quakertown Borough Police with felony endangering the welfare of children, misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person, and summary charges of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle and driving without a license, per court documents.
However, the felony charge was withdrawn at an August preliminary hearing, and Loveless last month pleaded guilty to the summary charge of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle and three new summary charges of disorderly conduct - unreasonable noise, per court documents.
Each guilty plea carried a 90-day probation sentence, for a total of 360 days' probation, per court documents.
The charges were lodged against Loveless as a result of a July 5 incident in which a “group of people” called police after bystanders removed the baby from an unattended parked car on the 200 block of West Broad Street in Quakertown, police said. The vehicle's windows were slightly cracked and was not running.
Quakertown Borough Police Department Chief Scott McElree said that temperatures inside the car reached 117 degrees. Loveless, a mother to two additional children, was located nearby and told authorities she “forgot the baby was in the car.”
The infant was taken to St. Luke’s Bethlehem campus for treatment, and was later released.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
