Day care driver accused of leaving toddler in van posts bail

Deborah St. Charles in jail since August

Deborah Denise St. Charles

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The former Orlando day care worker charged in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy who was left inside a hot van posted bail Friday and left the Orange County Jail after five months.

Deborah St. Charles has been in jail since August after investigators say she left Myles Hill inside a day care van for hours.

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St. Charles was recently granted $2,500 bond, down from her original $30,000 bond, but was not able to leave jail because release conditions meant she would not be able to be around children 18 and under.

The home she was to be released to housed two teens, including her own.

The Department of Children and Families testified before a judge last week that St. Charles was not believed to be a danger to children. Her attorney then requested less strict release conditions, adding that St. Charles was sorrowful.

"She's very sad about all of this, so that's her demeanor. This isn't a normal, this isn't a normal kind of case. This is not, this is just very, very sad," attorney Jeffrey Dean said.

The judge granted St. Charles' release on bond, but with stipulations that she could not be unsupervised with children 8 years old or younger and that she could not work in a day care.

A remaining hold to surrender her passport prevented her from bonding out earlier. St. Charles signed a statement saying she did not have a passport and was able to post bail Friday.


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