Cranston Mother, 36, Charged After Toddler Nearly Drowns In Pool

CRANSTON, RI — A Cranston woman is facing child neglect charges after police said her toddler nearly drowned in a pool Monday afternoon.

Firefighters and police arrived at the Wescott Place home around 2 p.m. after the toddler, a 2-year-old girl, was found facedown and unresponsive in the backyard swimming pool. The child's mother, 36-year-old Jacqueline Ciccone, left the toddler under the care of her 11-year-old daughter, who was also watching three other siblings, aged 1, 2 and 3, police said. Ciccone told police that she was in the basement, smoking marijuana and doing laundry.

The oldest child told her mother that she could not find the toddler, police said, and Ciccone ran upstairs and saw the child laying facedown in the pool through a window. Hearing screams, a next-door neighbor who is a registered nurse came over and started performing CPR on the child, who was not breathing and had discolored extremities, according to police. She was able to resuscitate the child, and found a weak pulse.

The toddler was rushed to Hasbro Children's Hospital and is in the Intensive Care Unit, Cranston police said. She was believed to be in the water for under 10 minutes, and likely would have drowned had the neighbor not performed CPR, police said.

Ciccone was arrested, charged with child neglect and released on personal recognizance ahead of a court appearance on Aug. 5. The other children were placed in the custody of their father.

According to police, the pool was not fenced, as is required. The city will inspect both the house and pool Tuesday, and the Department of Children, Youth and Families is conducting its own investigation, as well.

"This time of year, it is critical that children are never left supervised around any body of water, including neighborhood swimming pools," Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist said. "We are praying that the infant who nearly drowned responds to medical treatment and makes a full recovery. If it weren’t for the swift and heroic action of a neighbor, we would likely be mourning the death of this child."