PICTURED: Mother, 32, who left her four-year-old daughter alone on a Bronx street after midnight while she went to a homeless shelter is released from custody four days after abandoning the girl
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.
Sadeekah Abdul Salaam, 32, was arrested on Monday, two days after she left the her four-year-old daughter, named Sidaya, alone on the city’s streets wearing only a sweater in 40-degree weather while she went to a homeless shelter. She is pictured Wednesday leaving court
Salaam is pictured being released and leaving Bronx criminal court on Wednesday
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 (pictured)
Police released surveillance video (pictured above) showing Sidaya walking behind her mother Sadeekah Abdul Salaam, 32, who briefly turned around to look at her before walking away from her child. Cops later tracked down Salaam and arrested her on Monday
Sidaya, 4, was able to tell her law enforcement her name but they had no other information
‘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.
Salaam (pictured on Wednesday) has been charged with abandonment of a child, acting in a manner injurious to a child and reckless endangerment. She will appear in court again in April
It is not clear if Salaam (pictured) has entered a plea or obtained an attorney
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.
In the video from Saturday night (pictured above) a woman is crossing a street and looking back at the little girl following several yards behind her. The woman then stops and waits for the girl to catch up with her before they both move out of the frame
Initially, NYPD wasn't immediately clear whether the woman (as pictured above) knew Sidaya but it she was later identified on Monday as the girl's mother and taken into custody
The NYPD has asked anyone with further information in connection with Sidaya (pictured) to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS. She is currently in child protection
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