The 23-year-old mother who left her newborn son beside a trash bin behind a Chinese restaurant last week was charged with child abuse Wednesday. Reporter Paula Haddock Reports On The Abandoned Baby
Should Abandoning Babies Be Legalized? Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, Jr., said Wednesday afternoon that he was charging Lisa Levantino with one count of misdemeanor child abuse. Levantino could be sentenced to 3 to 12 months in jail and fined up to $1,000, if she is found guilty of the charge. Donna Good, deputy senior manager of the Denver Department of Human Services, said that the charges were fair. "It's not like leaving your car keys out there. She had to be charged with something -- and given that, I think he tried to find a balance and did," Good said. Levantino spent the weekend caring for the child at Denver Health Medical Center and has asked Human Services officials what she needs to do to regain custody of the baby. "Of her own free will, mom has spent an incredible amount of time with the baby," Good said. "She has clearly expressed enormous regret. She is trying to get to know, and parent, her baby." For the time being the infant will remain in the custody of a foster family. The will of the infant's father, who has been notified of his birth by certified mail, also will be a factor in whether the child is returned to the mother. Police said that Levantino left the baby behind the Grand China Restaurant at East Colfax and Gaylord Street last Thursday. She told authorities that she picked the area because it had a lot of traffic and she wanted the baby to be found quickly. According to reports, Levantino waited in sight of the trash bin so that she could make sure the baby was found quickly. She gave birth to the child March 7 inside her Denver apartment. She delivered the baby, cut the umbilical cord, rested for a while, then went out to buy some pacifiers and diapers. After 24 hours, she wrapped her son in a light green blanket and left him near a trash bin behind the restaurant, investigators said. "She was brand new in town. She had no resources of any kind. She was overcome with fear and worry and she did something really, really wrong," Good said. "I don't think there's drug issues, I don't think there's alcohol issues. There were stress management issues." The baby was nicknamed "Buster" by an intensive-care nurse who cared for the baby last week, but Good said the child hasn't been formally named. He's now with a foster family. Previous Stories:

• March 10, 2001: Police Locate Mother Of Abandoned Baby