The Yonkers Police Department (YPD) has arrested and charged a suspect following the abandonment of a newborn baby earlier this week in Yonkers, Westchester County, they said.

 

Yonkers police officials said that at around 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, the department received a report of an abandoned baby in the hallway of an apartment building at 32 Chestnut Street in the city. “Upon arrival, units located a newborn female baby in the first-floor hallway of the building,” police said.

 

“The baby had been wrapped in a blanket and was left on the floor near the entryway. Responding officers and Empress Ambulance personnel began assessing the newborn, at which time they observed her umbilical cord to be still attached with a black string wrapped around it,” they added.

 

Police said first responders immediately transported the baby to a nearby hospital, where she was evaluated medically and stabilized. “Detectives from our Special Victims Unit, Major Case Squad, Crime Scene Unit, and Digital Forensics Unit responded to the scene to investigate,” they said. “After reviewing hours of surveillance camera footage and interviewing many witnesses, investigators were able to identify the mother of the child, locate her, and determine the facts surrounding the abandonment of this child.”

 

Police said the investigation found that a woman had given birth to the child by herself earlier that day at around 3:30 p.m. They said the woman dressed the baby in a t-shirt, wrapped her in a blanket, and placed her in the hallway of 32 Chestnut Street at around 7:30 p.m. They said around an hour later, a resident of the building located the abandoned infant, wrapped her in an additional blanket, and called for police assistance.

 

Yonkers police said the female suspect was transported to an area hospital for a medical evaluation due to what they described as her unconventional childbirth and was later released. The mother was identified as Jaqueline Marleni Perez, 21, of Yonkers. Police said she was arrested and charged with one count of abandonment of a child, a Class E felony, under New York State Penal Law.

 

Due to laws restricting bail, police said the charge is ineligible for bail. They said Marleni Perez was arraigned on Feb. 8 in Yonkers Criminal Court and released on her own recognizance.

 

No details were shared regarding the whereabouts of the baby’s father.

 

Reacting to the incident, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said, “The circumstances that occurred are heartbreaking and unfortunate, but we are thankful the baby is stable and safe. I commend the compassionate and swift actions of our Yonkers PD in finding the mother, exhibiting concern for her welfare after going through a traumatic and desperate ordeal.” Spano continued, “This is a poignant reminder that help, regardless of situation, is available to all of us – don’t be afraid to reach out.”

 

Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza said, “Criminal investigations involving child victims are often the most difficult to handle, a sentiment that is only amplified when the child is less than one-day-old. I commend our detectives who worked tirelessly on this difficult case and quickly brought it to a close.”

 

Sapienza added, “We have over six Yonkers police buildings and 12 Yonkers fire department buildings in this city. All of these buildings are “safe-haven” locations, in addition to several hospitals and other locations that are designated as appropriate places for parents to legally surrender custody of infants under 30 days old.”

 

Sapienza concluded, “We hope that this incident sheds light on the proper procedures to follow to avoid what could have been a horrible tragedy.”

 

Police said the child remains in stable condition and is currently in the custody of Child Protective Services. The case is being prosecuted by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. Police added that additional information may be released as it becomes available.

 

Marleni Perez is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

In 2022, in New York City, as reported, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced City buildings would be lit green on May 14, and joined elected leaders, reproductive rights organizations, community leaders and activists, and thousands of New Yorkers in marching across the Brooklyn Bridge, calling for safe, legal access to abortion across the nation.

 

The “Bans Off Our Bodies” march was held in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States’ decision that year to override Roe v Wade during the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case on the grounds that the substantive right to abortion was not “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history or tradition,” nor considered a right when the due process clause was ratified in 1868, and was unknown in U.S. law until Roe v Wade.

 

In September 2023, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office that would institute new policies, and require additional training at the Jefferson County Correctional Facility to protect incarcerated individuals’ rights to reproductive health care.

 

According to an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), it was found that during the administration of former Sheriff Colleen M. O’Neill, a pregnant woman incarcerated at the jail was repeatedly denied abortion care and faced pressure from the jail’s medical staff to not go through with the procedure, subjecting her to unnecessary stress and endangering her health.

 

OAG officials said at the time the agreement would ensure all individuals incarcerated at the facility would receive the abortion and medical care they have a right to under New York and federal laws.

 

“As New York’s attorney general, I will continue to defend everyone’s legal right to access the health care they need,” said James at the time. “Our laws make it clear that incarcerated individuals have a fundamental right to abortion care. Today’s agreement will ensure that right is protected and that no one is denied the right to make their own reproductive health care decisions.” 

 

The OAG launched an investigation into the facility’s treatment of the pregnant woman who filed a complaint alleging her rights to medical and abortion care had been violated while she was incarcerated.

The investigation found that the medical director and health care staff at the jail refused to provide abortion care she had requested, canceled appointments twice without justification, and pressured her to cancel the procedure. According to notes taken by a social worker at the time, a sergeant at the jail told the woman’s sister that they had “no intention of following through with [her] procedure.”

 

The abortion procedure was completed nearly a month after the initial request, at greater risk to her health. The investigation further found that the jail’s policies on reproductive health care access were lacking, and that staff members were not trained on incarcerated individuals’ rights to reproductive health care. 

 

New York state laws guarantee all New Yorkers a right to abortion care, and under both state and federal laws, all incarcerated individuals have the right to necessary and appropriate medical care, which includes reproductive health care.

 

OAG officials said that under the agreement reached with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the jail was required to adopt policies ensuring access to reproductive health care, including abortion, pregnancy screening, and pre/post-natal care, and provide training to staff on incarcerated individuals’ rights.

 

They said the jail’s leadership was required to finalize these training courses and policies by Dec. 1, 2023, with input from the OAG, and to inform all incarcerated individuals at the facility of their rights under the new policies. OAG officials said they would monitor the facility for compliance for the next five years to ensure the rights of all incarcerated individuals to reproductive health care are protected.

 

The OAG thanked the complainant for coming forward in the Jefferson County case, as well as Sheriff Peter Barnett for his cooperation with this investigation and his work to improve medical care at the correctional facility.

 

OAG officials said the agreement was, at the time, the latest action the attorney general has taken to defend abortion access in New York, and across the country. They said in June 2023, she sued what was described as a militant anti-abortion group for “invading clinics and blocking access to reproductive healthcare.

 

They said she has repeatedly led multi-state coalitions to combat efforts to roll back abortion rights and support protecting Americans’ access to safe, legal abortions. OAG officials said James challenged attempts to restrict access to reproductive healthcare services, such as the Trump administration’s Title X rule, and submitted testimony to Congress, urging passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act.

 

This bill, introduced in the U.S. Senate on March 8, 2023, if passed, would prohibit governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services. At the State level, they said James has supported New York State legislation to provide funds to abortion providers in New York and has called for an amendment to the State constitution to ensure the right to an abortion.

 

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, they said James launched a pro bono legal hotline to provide legal support to patients and health care providers nationwide.

 

OAG officials said New Yorkers are encouraged to call the New York abortion rights legal hotline at (212) 899-5567 for free legal information and resources about accessing abortion.