A homeless woman with a lengthy rap sheet allegedly tried to snatch two toddlers from a Manhattan playground in a brazen, broad-daylight attempt to steal kids that was eventually thwarted by one “superhero” nanny, police and prosecutors said.
“I owe my nanny a lot,” said the shaken father of the second of the two kids, whose nanny confronted the twisted child snatcher after she grabbed the 2-year-old and tried to run from the park.
“They don’t get enough credit but she would do anything to protect my child,” added the dad, who didn’t want his or his child’s name used.
Cops said the trouble began when suspect Jessie Pennill, whose rap sheet includes six assults back to 2011, started eyeing the 2-year-old and a 1-year-old boy inside Madison Square Park at noon Wednesday, according to a criminal complaint.
The 34-year-old is accused of first picking up the 1-year-old as the boy was playing, then refusing to hand them back to the child’s carer — who had to physically tear the toddler from Pennill’s arm, the complaint said.
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The alleged perp then quickly snatched up the other child and started heading for the park’s exit, according to the court filing.
The 2-year-old child’s nanny managed to thwart the attempted abduction by screaming for Pennill to put the kid down, the complaint and the girl’s father said.
Madison Square Park nanny Vanessa Edwards hailed her fellow caretaker as a quick-thinking “superhero.”
“She could have been hurt also trying to rescue the kid,” Edwards said as she pushed a baby in a stroller.
“Her whole life was on the line. She’s more than a hero.”
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“We live in a world today that the heart of man is brutally wicked … It’s crazy,” she said, referring to the frightening abduction attempt.
Meanwhile, the 2-year-old’s father warned parents to “watch out for people” inside Big Apple parks.
“In all of these parks, it’s very important that you have your eye on your kids at all times like any good parent would,” he said.
Pennill was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child on Thursday.
The accused attempted kidnapper confessed to the abduction, according to prosecutors.
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The older child’s father was surprised when he heard of all the arrests Pennill had.
“Wow, that’s crazy. That’s crazy,” he told the Post.
“That’s something that the system has to work out,” he added, referring to her free to roam the streets.
“That’s just how the system seems to work, I guess.”
The father of the 1-year-old boy agreed.
“I would hope to not to see a repeat violent offender back on our city streets anytime soon,” the dad, who wished to remain anonymous, said Friday night.
“I wish people would value public safety more and the first responders willing to help keep us safe.”
Pennill was last busted for randomly slugging a victim in the face at Lexington Avenue and East 125th Street in East Harlem on July 12, according to police.
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