Nanny Christine Nunes, accused of leaving tot in hot car, remains jailed

A nanny from Lynbrook accused of leaving a 3-year-old girl in a hot, locked minivan while she shoplifted merchandise from a Target store Tuesday afternoon remained jailed Wednesday, police said.

Christine Nunes, 37, was arraigned Wednesday at First District Court in Hempstead on charges of petty larceny and first-degree reckless endangerment. She was ordered held on $50,000 bond or bail, online court records show.

Nunes left the girl in the backseat of a 2006 Dodge Caravan in the Broadway Mall parking lot in Hicksville about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nassau County police said. A passerby saw the child and called police about 1:30 p.m. Police said the girl was sweating and visibly hot when officers arrived.

The girl was locked in the minivan for about 35 minutes with the windows rolled up, and the temperature reached an estimated 100 degrees, police said.

Using a lockout kit, Second Precinct officers were able to unlock the car and open the windows. About that time, police said, Nunes returned to the car, and officers determined she had shoplifted merchandise from the Target store. She was arrested without incident, police said, and the girl was taken to a hospital, where she was treated for dehydration and released to her father.

With Khloe Meitz