Daycare Worker Charged After Putting Child In Garbage Can: Homewood PD

HOMEWOOD, IL — An employee at a Homewood daycare has been charged with a misdemeanor after putting a child in a trash can as a form of punishment, police said.

At around 9 p.m., Jan. 13, an incident was reported that happened earlier in the day involving a 4-year-old boy at The Learning Lab, in the 18700 block of Dixie Highway.

Police said their investigation found that at around 1 p.m. Jan. 13, daycare employee Anna Petrou, 58, of Homewood, placed the boy outside in an alley for approximately 20 seconds. The temperature at the time of the incident was around 19 degrees.

Petrou then brought the victim inside and placed him in an empty garbage can as a form of punishment, police said.

On Jan. 23, Petrou was charged with one misdemeanor charge of endangering the life of a child.

In an interview with ABC7, the boy's parents said he told them the teacher put him in a garbage can because he didn't want to take a nap.

"I had no words, especially when I reviewed the tape. And my first thing was, of course, I'm crying. And I went to the police station," mother Monica Forte told ABC7.

Petrou was processed and released pending a future court day.