- Sadeekah Abdul Salaam, 32, was arrested on Monday in the Bronx
- She was charged with with abandonment of a child, acting in a manner injurious to a child and reckless endangerment
- Salaam left her four-year-old daughter alone on a Bronx street after midnight two days earlier while she went to a homeless shelter
- The little girl, Sidaya, was wearing only a sweater in 40-degree weather
- Police released surveillance video showing Sidaya walking with her mother about 10 minutes before the little girl was spotted by cops wandering alone
- Salaam was released on Wednesday from Bronx Criminal Court
- She refused to answer questions on why she abandoned her daughter
- The girl is being cared for by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services
A New York City mother who abandoned her four-year-old daughter on a Bronx street after midnight on Saturday has been pictured for the first time as she left court on Wednesday afternoon.
Sadeekah Abdul Salaam, 32, was arrested on Monday, two days after she left the young girl, named Sidaya, alone on the city’s streets wearing only a sweater in 40-degree weather while she went to a homeless shelter.
Cops picked up Sidaya shortly after midnight on Sunday morning after they spotted her wandering alone at the corner of East 156 Street and Prospect Avenue.
Salaam refused to answer questions about why she abandoned her daughter as she left Bronx Criminal court, after being arraigned and released on her own recognizance.
‘I’ll talk to you in court, please respect that,’ she told a Daily Mail photographer as she was released from handcuffs and walked from the building.
Her daughter Sidaya has been taken into child protection with the Administration for Children’s Services and will have no contact with her mother during the case, the court said Wednesday.
After being picked up by officers, the girl was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, where an evaluation showed she is in good physical health.
She was able to tell officers her first name but cops had no information on her family.
The NYPD on Sunday released heartbreaking surveillance footage of the moment Salaam abandoned the little girl as they looked for further information.
Cops were unsure if the woman walking away from her had known Sidaya but on Monday, confirmed that it was her mother Salaam.
The distressing video sees the little girl walking some distance behind her mother.
At one point, Salaam turns back around to look at the youngster but then walks off before she had a chance to catch up with her.
Sidaya was wearing only a sweater without a jacket, sweatpants, and rain boots in the cold weather.
The footage also showed Sidaya on the street about ten minutes before she was spotted by officers in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Salaam has been charged with abandonment of a child, acting in a manner injurious to a child and reckless endangerment according to the New York Daily News.
Her next appearance in court will be on April 22.
It is not immediately clear if Salaam has entered a plea or retained an attorney to comment on the allegations.
The NYPD has asked anyone with further information in connection with Sidaya to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
Timeline of search for Sidaya’s mother
