I (29M) was shelving books near the front windows of the public library when I saw a little kid waddle straight out the automatic doors toward a busy four-lane street, no adult in sight. I dropped the stack I was holding, sprinted outside, scooped her up just as she stepped off the curb, and carried her back inside. Security phoned the police and they showed up, reviewed the cameras, and thanked me for preventing what looked like a sure accident.
Ten minutes later the mother burst in, red-faced and screaming that I “kidnapped” her daughter. She demanded my full name, took pictures of me and the badges of the officers, and kept yelling that I had “no right” to touch her child. When the cops calmly explained what happened she shifted gears, claimed her toddler was “never in real danger,” and insisted I owe her ten grand for the trauma of seeing “a strange man” holding her baby.
Now she has plastered my photo all over the local Facebook group calling me a predator, keeps emailing the library demanding I be fired, and has threatened a lawsuit for emotional distress. My manager believes the footage clears me but HR still wrote an incident report “just in case.” I can’t shake the feeling this could get uglier even though the police literally thanked me.
AITA?
Comments
I mean, who knew rescuing toddlers could come with such a hefty price tag. Next time, just charge her for your superhero services upfront.
Obviously NTA. Sorry you had to deal with the crazy mom.
you’re so NTA it’s ridiculous. anyone with half a brain knows you did the right thing. that mom’s probably just embarrassed she lost track of her kid and is lashing out. honestly, dont let toxic ppl gaslight you when u did something good. keep doing you, and don’t let the online mobs get to your head.
wth that’s crazy obviously youre not TA
Yikes. NTA
Were it me and if your boss or the head of the library approves I’d contact a local tv station and have them run a human interest story complete with a clip of the camera footage. Or sue her for defamation since she made public posts that could affect you for future jobs.
Get a link to her Facebook posted
Obviously NTA. Sounds like she set this up for a payday honestly
I feel like what she is doing is defamation of character. I’m no lawyer, but calling you a predator is a serious accusation and can ruin your life. You weren’t the asshole for saving the kid. Maybe consult a lawyer if you can?
I’d report the Facebook posts to the police, surely that would have to come under some kind of hate speech/slander and you have the video proof to prove it! You don’t want her doing damage for your job prospects/romantic interests etc where someone can google you and find something so incredibly damning to your reputation. Have this dealt with asap OP for your own benefit!
You’re absolutely not the asshole. You saved a child from walking into traffic. Any responsible adult would’ve done the same. Her reaction is wildly inappropriate, and it sounds like she’s trying to deflect from her own neglect. Keep the police report and video for your protection you did the right thing.
NTA for acting on instinct to save a kid from a dangerous situation… some people just don’t get why someone would step in like that. It’s wild how fast things can go sideways when someone’s got an agenda instead of common sense. What exactly did the police say when they reviewed the footage? I mean, it’s one thing to be upset, but this seems way over the top.
In your shoes, I would be getting a lawyer & suing for defamation, etc. I mean, you probably did save her kids life. And where was she that it took 10 minutes for her to show up? She certainly wasn’t watching her kid.
NTA in regards to saving the kid.
Time to be the asshole in terms of punishing the mother for her shit.
HR has to take the report, don’t read into that too much.
The lady is lucky the cops didn’t charge her.
I’d talk to an attorney. That’s slander, she could have to pay you damages. The attorney should at least be able to send a cease and desist letter.
NTA. Where was that mom for the ten minutes between the rescue and coming in guns blazing? I get that sometimes kids wander off, but maybe counter threaten to contact DCFS for neglect and endangerment if she continues this harassment.
Get a lawyer to write her a cease and desist letter and threaten to sue for defamation.
That mother is a psychopath that’s looking to save face for her negligence. Other than the emotional stress this may cause you, she’s got nothing. Perhaps your company will put the security footage online to protect you reputational damage
As a therapist, I’m seeing an embarrassed mother who is bending the narrative. People will RUN with shit like this to shift the spotlight off themselves. She was neglecting her child in that moment and she is unable to come to terms with it. As much as she’s going hard to ruin your life, tryyyyyyyyy not to take it personally. Anyone would have done the same thing and it would be them in your shoes instead. What a horrible experience for you!!
BOT!
NTA.
Ask the library if you can get a copy of the footage video. Ask the cops for a copy of the report.
I’d talk to your boss about the “human interest story” angle of them posting their own story. The library definitely shouldn’t want a nutcase accusing them of having a dangerous staff member and to cover their own ass about what happened. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean they’ll protect you, don’t be afraid to attorney up over it
Contact a lawyer. You have an excellent defamation case. That ten grand she wanted from you is gonna look like nothing.
NTA. You should sue her.
Get copies of the police report, the HR report and the video.
You need to talk to a lawyer yesterday. He/she needs to get that video footage and the police reports locked down; witness statements; and sue her for defamation. Police should be charging her for child endangerment. And make sure the lawyer goes after her for your legal expenses.
NTA
You should contact your local news station and have them publicly show what Happened.
Your name will be cleared and she will have all the light shine on how awful she is.
You saved that kids life. Never doubt you did the wrong thing saving someone.
NTA
Mom was likely scared and embarrassed that the kiddo got away without her noticing. She was projecting her feelings into you. You did nothing wrong.
NTA
Show that Karen the tape and tell her to be a better goddamn parent. If you had done nothing that exact same woman would have blamed you for killing the child because you didn’t do anything–I promise.
The police already know and confirmed you acted properly. Forget it. If anyone steps to you, have CPS on speed-dial because that parent is clearly chronically neglecting the child.
Ask the police to speak with her and kaybe they can scare her into deleting this. Otherwise lawyer.
Nta. At that point though, the police should have charged her with child neglect.
Seems like she’s taking her anger out on you as a form of shame that she couldn’t take care of her child properly. NTA, but she is.
Please file a police report, a CPS report, and sue her for libel.
Of course you aren’t. That’s wild! I think people who comment you share this story are right – don’t know which format – also fb, insta or media, but it’s simply unjust and crazy what the woman is doing
Sue her for defamation.
I think the lady is trying to convince herself and anyone who will listen that she isn’t a bad mother. Or at least an inattentive db.
No. The poor toddlers mother is the ass here.
“insisted I owe her ten grand”
Make sure you have a copy of the footage, get it online, and make some noise. Get your side of the story out there with proof, and be ready to fight the insanity publicly to clear your name. NTA, obviously.
You’re a hero
If someone prevented my kid from getting plastered on the road I would be grateful.
If you had done this for my daughter, I would have bought you lunch! You did an amazing thing, and that lady is just crazy! Even if the child was in no real harm(because maybe mom was outside on the phone or having a smoke or something) she should not have reacted the way she did. You made the best choice in a situation that could have turned deadly faster than the blink of an eye. You have my thanks, just because now I know that there are some really great people in the world! Thank you! You are a wonderful man! I hope that your job and friends and family treat you exceptionally well! Good job, Sir!!
NTA. And for what it’s worth, don’t be worried about a lawsuit. No lawyer would take that case. And even if some crazy lawyer did take that case, it wouldn’t go anywhere.
Source: I am a personal injury lawyer.
Contact a lawyer. She is slandering you all over town, calling you a “predator” and claiming you tried to kidnap her child. She has not acknowledged that you saved her baby, insisting there was never any danger. You watched that child leave the library alone, and then the mother burst into the library screaming like a banshee. Where was she? Not in the library. What was her daughter doing in the library alone? She’s a toddler. It’s time for you to take charge of this and file charges against that woman. What she’s doing is libel. She put it in writing on Facebook for everyone to see. Talk to a lawyer.
NTA. Of course.
That black-ish episode of grown black men refusing to help a little white girl because of fear that they’ll get in trouble for it hits different.
I would definitely talk to a lawyer. Not only is she defaming you, she may get you fired also.
Nta.
Speak to your HR and nip this in the bud! Call for a probono lawyer; and sue this woman for your real emotional trauma that she is putting you through.
Do not retaliate on social media or interact with this woman. Journal everything that happened in case it goes to court. What this woman has done to you on social media will affect your entire future job possibilities because people do look to see what is going on with you on social media these days. You have to protect yourself and protect your future. if you have a union with the library, then contact your union.
I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to write down as much as you can. Also, I would call. I would contact the police to get a copy of anything they may have filed. Sometimes the police get sloppy too so if there’s not a report made out you may have to put in a report. Believe me. I’ve seen this happen to other people and it does not go away if you don’t do anything.
I’ve also failed to take proper action and suffered because of lack of foresight.
She is doing her best to deflect the fact she left her kid unattended. File a claim for defamation.
Report her to child welfare services for neglect and reckless endangerment.
Call CPS on the woman for neglect. Sue her for defamation. Let the library know the need to store the film for a future court case.
So she wasn’t watching her kid, who could have been injured or worse. She knows that if anyone looks closer, she’s in trouble. But by deflecting the attention towards you, she will look like the responsible mom who protects her kid from predators and whatever you say is questionable. Sprinkle a dusting of oportunism, she’s hoping maybe you can pay her to shut her up.
This is one creepy lady who doesn’t deserve to have kids. She’ll guilt trap and gaslight them all their lives.
You need to report her and what she’s doing to the police as harassment and threaten to report child neglect
I’d be suing that crazy woman for libel.
Your boss wrote up an incident report, “Just in case?” In case of what? I would definitely ask for all documentation, videos and police reports. Then talk with a lawyer to explore your options. They can send her a cease and desisit.
Get a lawyer that deals in this kind of situation to help you navigate next steps.
NTA. Isn’t it funny how people who are never forced to face the consequences of their own actions can’t handle it when it is painfully obvious that they are at fault? Instead of thanking you and (gasp) admitting she did something wrong, her instinct is to deflect blame from herself and attack the one person who actually saved her from having a dead baby.
Law suit now. You’re a man. She will ruin your life.
definitely NTA, she should be praising you. why wasn’t she keeping an eye on her child? to make it that far without her showing up is on her, and she’s probably trying to cover up that she royally messed up, to put it lightly.
NTA- Mom should be charged for child endangerment- A lot of time elapsed before she came forward. Wish security/ police had told her this!!!
Did they write an incident report?
Of course you’re not and you need to nip this this in the bud immediately. Screenshot everything. Report her to fb and take the shots to make a report with the police. Consider a restraining order and then she’ll be banned from the library. Call the news and tell them you have a lead on a local interest story about a child that was rescued. You can’t just wait this out. Get a copy of the security footage for yourself as well. If you let her keep going and you don’t fight back you automatically come off as guilty. You gotta fight back because falsely being accused of a predator and people assuming it’s true could really haunt you one day. I’d honestly talk to a lawyer. Start documenting everything that mom is posting.
Screen shot everything. Talk to a lawyer. This is already documented in your work file. People are shitting on you outside of work.
Lawyer up.
I would contact a lawyer for cease and desist of defamation
She should have watched her kid. I’m surprised the officers didn’t threaten her with calling CPS
You need to look into a defamation suit, get a copy of the footage for your records from your manager, and look into establishing a restraining order against this woman. You need to get a paper trail going of her actions so you have some recourse if/when she tries to use the system against you. This can absolutely affect your future employment opportunities and personal life. Protect yourself! Maybe reach out to the officers who responded and ask them if they’d be willing to give you a statement about what happened and your actions.
NTA. Consult a lawyer and contact fb.
File a report with CPS. This lady is unhinged. Is her child in danger?
Time to sue her for defamation.
NTA – speak with a lawyer and then send her a letter essentially saying if she doesn’t stop you’ll she for defamation…. Cause wtf…. At no point should that toddler been out of view long enough to get outside of the curb and the cops to come….had she been watch it.
NTA. But you should definitely be screenshotting and saving every post and comment you see that slanders you for proof. The internet is forever, but if she deletes stuff, it’s harder to go back and recover (not impossible, just harder).
I like the get a copy of the video and share with the news idea. as well as going to the police for harass.
Good on you for doing good and saving that child.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Sue her for defamation, and anything else you can.
NTA – Sue her. Lawyer letter, Cease and Desist. You got a Libel case since she is posting it online.
bullshit
The fact the cops were already there and making a report before she even showed up says everything. WTF was she doing, smoking crack?
You definitely need to go after her with a lawyer for posting lies about you that will have real world consequences if you do not stop it now. She has no case against you, but you absolutely do against her.
If this is real, post in the librarians sub. They have experience with this type of thing all the time.
If it’s fake, don’t post there.
I doubt it’s real bc the cops had time to come and review footage before she showed up even though she saw you do it.
report her ass to CPS
This is classic misdirection. By attempting to blame you, she is deflecting attention from her shitty parenting abilities.
I would get a copy of the footage and then consult with an attorney.
report her for child endangerment
community parenting used to be a thing, before people realized there was money to be made by waiting for an accident to happen and then baselessly suing. it takes a village, and thankfully there are enough villagers who understand that. please take care of yourself and go after her irresponsible ignorant ass.
Talk to a good lawyer, stat. And sue her for libel.
She is guilty of libel.
Go to the news media with the video if you can. Sue her for her assassination of your good character.
You know how I know this is not true? Because the cops would have at least ticketed her for child endangerment.
Like it would be one thing if that was just her reaction in the moment as a freaked out parent of a runaway toddler, but to carry on like that… She’s a psycho and you have to shut her down bc people like that will just keep on going if not. Make that b… go viral.
I would damned sure MAKE it get uglier, by suing the negligent mom for slander and libel. That’s your reputation she’s attacking.
Mom here.
She’s insane, and you probably saved that kid’s life.
File a CPS report for her neglect
So… the toddler managed to get out the doors, almost step off the curb (less than a min time) you got them, got back inside, spoke with security who called the police (5 min of time?) and then police showed up (considering fast response… another 5 min?) who I’m assuming called the month and she came in (10 min) so it took almost 30 minutes before the women was within her child’s reach?
Yeah.. f that noise. I’d ask for a copy of the video footage and send it to the local news outlets (blurring the child’s face of course) and ask to run a story about the heroic actions of a library staff who saved a child from running into traffic.
Personally I’d also be filing a CPS case.
Don’t sign any HR paperwork for “an incident” but you do have grounds for filing a slander lawsuit since she is posting all about you online.
I would contact CPS about the lady abandoning her child alone in a library.
feels like the mother had this planned and was willing to allow her child to die for a payout or maybe the more reasonable explanation, is embarrassed by her shitty parenting skills. i would consider contacting a lawyer for harassment and defamation?
I would consider going after her for defamation. At least consult with a lawyer. Calling you a predator is serious business.
If I were you, I would also call CPS and report her with providing them with footage and police report. This is neglect, she wasn’t adequately supervising her child and without you intervening, this child could have been seriously injured or worse.
What she is doing is twisting the narrative to avoid any kind of accountability on her part, this is bond to happen again and this time there might not be a Good Samaritan preventing this child from any kinda harm.
I would also look into legal action against her for defamation, this is not ok.
To counteract the social media nonsense get yourself a copy of the police report take screenshots after you’ve redacted personal information and post that as an argument to the fact that this crazy woman thinks you did something bad. Bravo and well done!
NTA. Consider popping over to a legal sub and asking for suggestions on how to protect yourself. If the police wrote a report, please get a copy of that.
NTA where exactly was she when her toddler was going outside????
Edit. If you work at the library ask the. To go halves with you on paying for cease and desist letter to be sent to the woman posting stuff about on online. You shouldn’t have to pay a bunch of money because you saved a kids life
Talk to a lawyer. This sounds like she is harassing you, in an effort to get a payday. That’s illegal.
Hey, so…
As a mother and a bereaved sibling at age 16, thank you so much for saving this child’s life. I’m sorry that this mother did not take the time to say that to you.
First time I’ve ever heard of a kidnapper bringing a child back inside where it’s safe. Talk about no good deed goes unpunished. That woman and anyone that backs her side of the story is wack.
What!!! You should take her to court, she’s slandering your name. You did the RIGHT thing when it should have been her…but she was nowhere in sight! She’s wrong, all the way frickin wrong and she shouldn’t get away with it. Sounds to me like she had other plans and you got in the way? Maybe she’s mentally sick and was TRYING to let her kid get hurt so she could get a check?
Good for you! She needs to be evaluated and you need a reward.
Just be thankful the baby wasn’t hurt and that’s all because of you. Don’t let this crazy make you wary of helping someone in the future. You’re 100% in the right.
Don’t let her ruin you either. Write out a clear and calm statement and paste it everywhere she posts. Don’t answer questions, don’t respond to tags or anything. Just continue to post a calm statement of the facts. Don’t blame her, though we all know she should have been watching, just stoic and factual. You can’t fight crazy with anger and crazy. Just let her look wild.
Contact the police if she escalates. As everyone has recommended, get that footage. Thank you helping that baby, we all know who put them in danger.
If you’re going to post the surveillance video, consider blurring out the childs face. The parent could cause more trouble if you post a video of their child.
The more you think about anything but the incident itself and about everything else (social media.unknowns)the more likely you are to be dragged for doing what you saw at the moment as a very real threat. You zeroed in on the immediate danger that you saw. I don’t know if people realize this or not because of how targeted things have gotten but helping someone from serious danger especially one that can’t care for themselves is never a bad thing . Let me add that I know that people have been injured while trying to help . The person ,yourself etc . . That is until someone starts to pick apart your intention which seems pretty straight forward.
I’d get a lawyer and ask about the possibility of a Countersuit for slander
Where was she? If she watched you grab the kid why wasn’t she there before the cops? I think you’ll be fine in this one.
I am getting a picture of what this mother looks like. Especially since she is claiming she didn’t do nothing.
I have two toddlers and my GOSH some people just believe that their toddlers are so special that people are just out to get them left and right.
You need to contact a lawyer. This could have serious repercussions for your future.
NTA for saving the toddler, but she is going to ruin your life if you don’t get ahead of this.
It almost seems like the mom set this up – as terrible as that sounds. You are not TAH!
This is why huge scarcity of male teacher in elementary school.
As long as you didn’t take the kid home, nope, you’re a life saver!
You saved the kids life and I would have said she was just upset at the fact her neglect nearly killed her kid and taking it out on you. But then you mentioned her harassing you so clearly she’s just a massive POS.
I agree with you, this could get far nastier. Might be worth an official cease and desist letter from a lawyer, either way get legal advice. Get a copy of that footage now and keep it.
Absolutely NTA! We were on an elevator in a busy airport after a long day of flying. Our 2 year old almost ran out of the elevator on the wrong floor, and my husband and I didn’t get her in time because our reaction time was slow. Thank goodness a kind stranger grabbed her before she ran out. We thanked him profusely. That, OP, is what that woman should’ve done.
I’d follow everyone else’s advice about protecting yourself and getting the police involved.
You may haventhwarted her plan to get rid of her kid and now she’s onto plan B. If real, she sounds sketch as Fuck.
NTA, I wouldn’t normally recommend getting CPS involved ever but this B is bringing it on herself. Ten minutes before the mother checks on her kid? Ruin her.
Maybe call CPS out of concern, followed by a lawyer consultation.
I’m sorry this happened to you. If you hadn’t acted and she got hit by a car, she would have been screaming at you for not protecting the customers of the library… I recently read a story about a little girl who got lost at Target and a dad with his two kids in tow found her and took her up to the front, and her mother snatched her from his cart and accused him of attempted kidnapping. If you were a female, she would have been thanking you. Child trafficking it’s a growing industry, and the most dangerous predators are females because they’re trusted more than men.
NTA – I’d call CPS and report the fact the child was left unattended at a library and only avoided serious harm because a random library employee intervened.
Screenshot the Facebook posts and sue her for defamation.
People like this manage to confuse the heck out of others because they are very loud, very insistent, and thus good at diverting the attention from the actual issue.
Right away she started out calling you a kidnapper, then shifted gears to claiming emotional damage, now she’s slandering you on social media, and apparently all this time everybody was too bamboozled to ask the actual question:
Where dafuq was she?
This child had the time to wander around the library and out the door, the police had time to come by, review the security footage, thank you, and then she walks in 10 minutes later. She was gone for at least 30 minutes in which she had no clue where her child was.
How could she even have any emotional damage from seeing her child in your arms? She only showed up much, much later! Of course children are a handful, and those little buggers can disappear in the blink of an eye (they’re fast), but she showed up so much later that she absolutely did not notice her child missing for a good, long while.
That’s dangerous levels of negligence.
Talk to a lawyer about her slandering you. She’s actively going after your job, you can sue her to kingdom come. And if you’re petty, try to get CPS involved.
But overall, try not to stress about it too much. You have solid proof that you did nothing wrong, and while social media are a cesspool of gullible haters, the law is on your side.
The mother is negligent. Call social services.
So you saved her child from possibly a horrifically traumatic death because SHE wasn’t paying attention , and she’s mad at YOU??? That lady needs help jfc
I would also recommend that you talk to your city’s legal council about sending a cease and desist or whatever legal protective avenue that they can take. The last thing you want her to gain a larger platform and it get way out of hand.
You should ask HR to attach a copy of the footage at their report « just in case » You need to protect yourself. Get the name of the police officers who came. You need to protect yourself just in case.
My child has ASD and loves to run off. I would be thanking you profusely. NTA
I’d consult a lawyer at this point. Almost feels like she’s a scammer
Sue her for defamation and slander. Two can play that game.
Unbelievable!! You definitely saved this child’s life. This mother sounds insane..or always on the hunt for a money grab. I’m so sorry for her horrible reaction and I hope her ridiculous claims are silenced.
NTA, you need to lawyer up though. Sounds like a case of libel/slander on her part and you don’t want your neighborhood reputation ruined by some crazy idiot.
lawyer up. now. don’t threaten a suit. sue. now.
INFO : WHY haven’t you put the security film of you saving her kids under each of her FB posts?
Calling out HER neglect?
Contact a lawyer and sue her for $10,000 for intentional infliction of emotional distress. And call Child Protective Services on her. Then plaster that all over Facebook.
NTA. Sue her for slander.
You have the lawsuit, and all the written proof you need! Call a lawyer.
This story doesn’t make sense to me. If Mom did not show her face until 10 minutes later, how does she explain her absence when child went out the door? How could her POV of child never being in danger be truthful if she didn’t see the whole incident unfold? Based on those observations, I wouldn’t worry.
Absolutely NTA! As a parent whose toddler literally walked out the library door – I was frantically looking for him inside and someone saw him in the parking lot and carried him in. I was SO grateful this random stranger thought to bring him inside.
And then I bought a kid leash and kept him even closer then on out.
THANK YOU for being considerate and kind and saving that child from what could have been a horrible accident.
No good deed goes unpunished. But what is wrong with people. Lawyer up immediately, get the lawyer to get the incident out of your employee file as well.
Please contact a lawyer OP. This is a defamation.
NTA.
It’s ALREADY ugly, mate. Gather the evidence and get ready to sue her for defamation.
So you could sue for defamation and should send a cease and desist letter to her especially since officers are aware of what happened
Countersue for emotional distress
Do you have a friend who’s a lawyer? There needs to be a stern Cease And Desist letter sent to this horrible woman. She must take down every single photo and comment, and post instead an apology to you, or (as your lawyer friend should state), you will sue her for defamation, and the evidence is stacked against her.
It’s just so much easier to not get involved when it comes to anything to do with children, especially if you’re a guy
Get screenshots of everything.
Then, since most library’s are operated by the city they are located in, I would ask the city administrator if the city attorney could write a cease and desist letter. Since it happened while you were working on their property they should be willing to do so.
If the women persists hire a lawyer and sue her for definition of character, harassment, mental anguish and whatever else the lawyer can think up.
I’m surprised that the police didn’t sight her for child endangerment
Sue that fuckin lady