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Background: News footage of the Brigantine, N.J. neighborhood where Jena Davidson was babysitting (WCAU). Inset: Jena Davidson (Mom Trusted).
A New Jersey woman hired to babysit a toddler was found inside the family’s home, allegedly passed out drunk, while her charge was spotted wandering around outside alone.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Brigantine Police Department said that officers responded to a call from a “concerned citizen” who noticed a toddler walking around the neighborhood by himself and crying. The caller was a neighbor who recognized the boy and took him inside out of the freezing cold. While on the phone with dispatchers, the neighbor took the toddler back to his home, where they found the babysitter, 35-year-old Jena Davidson, unconscious and smelling of alcohol.
Both of the child’s parents were at work at the time, and according to reporting by WCAU, a local NBC affiliate in nearby Philadelphia, the father of the child saw his son outside through his Ring camera app. He quickly called his neighbor, who called 911, found the toddler, and brought him home. That was when she spotted Davidson, telling the dispatcher, “The babysitter is out. On the floor. I need an ambulance.”
The police said in their statement that investigators determined that Davidson allegedly consumed “a significant amount of the homeowner’s alcohol to the point that she became unconscious and unresponsive.” According to court records obtained by WCAU, investigators reported that Davidson smelled of alcohol when officers arrived. Court records also stated that a coffee mug containing alcohol was found on the counter and an “empty shot bottle” was in Davidson’s bag.
Davidson was taken to the hospital and given “basic life support.” The boy was unharmed, and his neighbors took care of him until parents quickly returned home.
Davidson had advertised her babysitting services on two different sites, Mom Trusted and Nanny Lane, the site where the boy’s parents found her. Nanny Lane said in a statement to the New York Post that they were aware of the case and said Davidson “signed up over a year ago, tried our site for three days, then left and never used it again.” While her profile is still live, she has been blocked from using the site. Nanny Lane also told the Post, “Every paid family is provided background checks as part of their membership fee, and we highly recommend that every family use them.”
While she was still being treated in the hospital, Davidson was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.