A homeless woman with a lengthy criminal history is accused of making a brazen attempt to abduct two young children from a Manhattan playground in broad daylight earlier this week, police and prosecutors say.
According to the criminal complaint, Jesse Pennille, 34, was arrested midday Wednesday after supervising two young children, ages 1 and 2, inside Madison Square Park.
According to the lawsuit, she first picked up the 1-year-old while playing with him and then refused to return the child to the child’s caretaker, who had to physically remove the toddler from Pernille’s arms.
The suspect then quickly grabbed the other child and began heading toward the park’s exit, according to court documents, which do not say whether the children were related.
The complaint adds that the 2-year-old’s guardian thwarted the kidnapping attempt by yelling at Pernille to put the child down.
It was not immediately clear whether the two adults watching the children were their parents or a nanny.
Pennille was summoned to Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday on charges of attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police say she has an extensive arrest history, including six counts of assault dating back to 2011.
According to police, Pennille was last arrested on July 12 after he allegedly randomly punched the victim in the face at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and East 125th Street in East Harlem.
She is being held on $15,000 bail.
Her next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20.
