In news that has outraged and shocked parents on both sides of the Atlantic, Mery Isabel Quinde Castro, 22, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after she left her four-year-old son tied to a bush outside an apartment complex where she was babysitting.

The young boy was found alone, having been tied to the bush for approximately thirty minutes before neighbours noticed and called the police.

Spring Valley police Chief Paul Modica said of the incident:

Her child, this 4 1/2-year-old boy, did not want to go into the apartment. So she tied him to the bush until she could get him into the apartment.

He added that the boy had been tied to the bush using the leash to his backpack and left alone while his mother was occupied with other children in the building.

Detective Robert Bookstein said that the apartment was approximately 200 feet from the bush to which the child was tied and while inside, Castro could not see or hear her son. He added:

Putting the child in that position puts the child at risk of bodily harm and mental anguish. The child could have possibly been kidnapped or killed.

Castro’s sister Rosa Quinde has leapt to her sibling’s defence saying:

She did nothing wrong. She is a good mother.

She then went on to pay her sister’s $2,500 bail.

Unsurprisingly, witnesses to the incident strongly disagree with her statement. Len Alvino told reporters:

It befuddles me why she would tie a child up to a tree — almost like a dog.

Castro will be back in court on Thursday.

What punishment do you think Castro should and will receive? Comment below and let us know your thoughts!