Tanning Bed Mom Patricia Krentcil Answers to Camden County Charges

The North Jersey mom accused of letting her 6-old-year into a tanning booth had to answer to old charges in Camden County this week.

Patricia Krentcil, who tans so often that her face is now a deep burnt orange color, was convicted of theft and forgery in the county in 2000 and ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution. After posting bail on the charge of taking her child into a tanning booth, she was transported on a bench warrant to Camden County, where she was held for several days, according to CBS3, before making restitution.

Krentcil, of Nutley, has gained national attention for both her appearance—formerly fair-skinned, her face is now almost brown—and for the second-degree child endangerment charge she now faces. Authorities say the mom took her daughter Anna, who has extremely fair skin, into a tanning booth with her.

Different sources have reported Anna as 5 or 6 years old; regardless, it’s illegal for children under 14 to be in a tanning booth in New Jersey.

Anna complained of a sunburn at school and told school officials she tanned with her mother.

Krentcil and her attorney, John Caruso, emphatically denied the charge.

“Forget about the presumption of innocence—my client is 150 percent innocent,” Caruso said on CBS3. “That child was never in that tanning booth.”

With the Camden County matter now behind her, Krentcil’s next court appearance on the child endangerment charge is set for June 4.

In the meantime, she is facing a public backlash. Even noted Jersey Shore tanner Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi has spoken out against Krentcil with some rather colorful language.