Mother Burns 7-year-old in Oven

Tiffany Fraser, 26, of 1 Tallman Place, Airmont, was charged with assault and endangering a child. She is accused of placing her 7-year-old son in an oven and burning him. Also arrested was Joelle Lherisson, 37, of Airmont, a day-care worker charged with failure to report child abuse.

Police began investigating after the boy was spotted alone at a shopping center and told officers he had run away because "his mother had put him in an oven and burned him as a punishment," for losing a cell phone according to police reports. When the boy reported the oven incident at the shopping center, he and a twin were removed from their home by the Rockland County children's agency.

The investigation also lead to the arrest of Joelle Lherisson. Lt. Brad Weidel of the Town of Ramapo police force said the boy's burns — on his nose, arm, hand and left leg — were noticed at a daycare center owned by Lherisson in July, but Lherisson did not report them. Lherisson told WCBS-TV that the boy showed no signs of abuse, and she had taken good care of him.

"There was nothing wrong with the child," she said.

Tiffany Fraser pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault, a felony, in Village Court. The day care provider, Joelle M. Lherisson, 37, of 10 Country Club Lane, Airmont, was charged with a misdemeanor count of failure to report child abuse. She has pleaded not guilty. Her license to operate a day care facility at her house has been revoked by the state.

"In this case, we have horrific acts," Ramapo Detective Lt. Brad Weidel said during a Town Hall news conference attended by the police chief, town supervisor and council members. "This case has been very unnerving for us, especially those of us who have children. "Our investigation found the mother threatened to put the child in the oven and then did so. We found the day care operator knew and didn't report the incident."