A 72-year-old Villager who had been arrested in July after she was accused of yanking an uninvited child from a water slide during a party will not be prosecuted in the case.
Betty Gwendolyn Cantelmo of the Village of Del Mar had been arrested July 4 by Sumter County sheriff’s deputies on a third-degree felony charge of cruelty to a child.
Cantelmo told a deputy that the child had “not been invited to her party,” an arrest report indicated. She denied putting her hands on the child.
Earlier this month, the prosecutor’s office announced that no information would be filed in the case.
“In this case, the victim’s guardian stated the defendant grabbed the victim by the arm and dragged her out of the pool. Numerous witnesses dispute these allegations and claim the defendant never put her hands on the child. Based on the inconsistent statements of multiple witnesses at the incident, the evidence is legally insufficient to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” the prosecutor’s office stated in documents on file in Sumter County Court.
