New Jersey tanning mom denies charges of child endangerment By Ida Siegal and Pat Battle, NBCNewYork.com A New Jersey woman arrested after police said she brought her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth said Wednesday that she was innocent of the charges but admits to excessive tanning herself. Patricia Krentcil, 44, pleaded not guilty to second-degree child endangerment and said outside court that she is a "wonderful mother." Asked whether she admits to excessive tanning, Krentcil said "yes," but insisted she would never subject her red-haired, fair-skinned daughter to the heat of a tanning bed. The girl, who authorities said suffered a sunburn from the tanning booth, was allowed to stay in the home but is now being monitored by state child welfare workers. Krentcil insists her daughter was never exposed to the tanning booth's UV rays and instead got slightly sunburned while playing outside on a warm day. The girl's father told NBC 4 New York that his daughter told classmates at school that she "went tanning with Mommy." Julio Cortez / AP Patricia Krentcil, left, stands with her lawyer, John Caruso, during a court appearance on charges of child endangerment at the Essex County Superior Court, Wednesday, May 2. "It's like taking your daughter to go food shopping," she told NBC 4 New York at her Nutley, N.J. home on Tuesday after being released on $25,000 bail.