Woman Makes Initial Appearance in Pepper Spray Incident

Laura Molnar, a 21-year-old Brecksville resident, made an initial appearance in a closed session at the Justice Center in Cleveland  on Monday to face three felony assault charges.

As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, a surety bail of $250,000 had not been posted.

Molnar is accused of spraying three small children in the face with pepper spray at a Brecksville playground May 25.     

"She was at the Kids' Quarters playground, which is by the Community Center, and it's alleged that she used a stream pepper spray and it struck three children with this spray," said Brecksville Prosecutor Sergio DiGeronimo.  "Two of them required medical treatment.  

 "She was arrested shortly after at her home. The police subsequently, based on the witness information, charged her with those felonious assaults."  

Apparently she did not know any of the children.    

"None of them were hers. Just strangers," DiGeronimo said. "She's 21 years old, just hanging around the playground."    

"I don't know, but I would think that that would be a symptom of some kind of mental illness. But I don't have any cold hard facts on that. You just don't spray a 4-year-old."  

Drug and alcohol use do not appear to have been a factor, DiGeronimo said. "She wasn't impaired."