Ossining Grandma Accused of Leaving Toddler to Wander Streets Back in Court

For the next two weeks, an investigation will continue into the pending case of an Ossining grandmother facing a charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

Maria Villa, 65, appeared in Ossining Village Court yesterday morning before Judge Raymond Barlaam with her attorney Charles Rubenstein of Yorktown Heights. Judge Barlaam agreed to postpone the case further when Rubenstein requested more time to look into the facts.

According to the district attorney’s office on May 11, Villa left three young children at her house on Ellis Place on a morning in mid-May this year. One of them, a two-year-old boy, was found by a good samaritan wandering down a street near Ossining High School during the morning rush hour.

Villa told police she went to the store thinking her daughter was at home, but she wasn’t. Child Protective Services then took charge of the three children.

Prosecutor Michael Borreli said the charge Villa faces is a class A misdemeanor. The three possibilities for her punishment include: up to one year in jail, $1,000 bail, or three years probation.

Villa’s lawyer told Patch in court yesterday that he hopes to come to a “disposition” or final settlement in the case when they appear in court again on Aug. 16.