Mom of “Washing Machine Toddler” Says She’ll Press Charges

Saskia David, the mother of Samier Bush, the toddler who was videotaped being put into a commercial washing machine, told the Today Show she would press charges against the babysitter who was responsible for him at the time. "I just want to tell Sandra," David told Ann Curry, "This is not over because everybody said on the news that I wasn't pressing charges, and I am."

Related: Man Who Put Toddler in Machine Not Boy's Dad

The incident occurred on May 11, but was not widely reported until a surveillance video of the child being loaded into the machine went viral on the Internet earlier this week. The machine automatically locked and began to cycle but was disabled by a swift thinking employee of the laundromat. Initially, the people in the video were thought to be Samier's parents, but yesterday, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office identified them as a babysitter and her male friend.

Related: Man Puts Toddler in Machine and Turns it on

The mother explained that she only learned of the incident on Tuesday night at about midnight when she saw the video on the local news. "I was, like, I know that ain't my child, oh, oh my god…I didn't know until the next morning until the police came knocking on my door." David says Sandra, the babysitter, had told her he had fallen down two stairs. The boy still has a visible mark on his forehead and mom claims he needs more medical tests.

Although the prosecutor's office says they are not filing charges because there was no criminal intent, David asserts she wants the people in the video to be punished and sent to jail. "She sat there and watched him put my baby in a washer. So it was both of their fault," she told Curry. "I don't care how much they say it's not her fault. That's her fault, too."

David says she does not like to watch the video because it makes her feel "sick," "angry," and "sad." But she reports that baby Samier is doing well. "He's still talkative. And he's beautiful." The boy's father is currently in prison, but David says he's been informed of the situation he also wants charges to be filed.