N.Y. District Attorney's Office Says Mother Won't Be Charged For Leaving Newborn in Church Manger

A district attorney's office in New York has said that the recently-identified mother who left her newborn child in a manger in a Queens church will not face charges.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement this week that the mother, who was recently identified, will not be charged after leaving her child in the manger of the nativity scene at Holy Child Jesus Church in Queens in November, near the Thanksgiving holiday. 

"It appears that the mother, in this case, felt her newborn child would be found safely in the church and chose to place the baby in the manger because it was the warmest place," Brown said in a statement.

New York is one of the U.S. states with a "safe haven law" that allows parents to leave their newborn child with a person at a safe location, such as a church or hospital, and not face charges.

It was questionable whether the mother would be charged as she did not leave the newborn with any person, but rather left it in the manger of the church.

The church's priest, Father Christopher Ryan Heanue, told the New York Times following the incident that he has love for the mother and admires her for doing the right thing and leaving her infant somewhere safe.

"A church is a home for those in need," he told the media outlet, "and she felt, in this stable—a place where Jesus will find his home—a home for her child."