For four years, a man in Florida provided the daily care for a little boy while his mother went to work, thinking she could trust this man. The woman had no clue what he was teaching her son until his strange new skill came to light and left neighbors horrified. Now, the male nanny is being babysat behind bars.
From the time the unnamed woman’s son was 6-years-old, he spent a lot of time with now 30-year-old Joshua Stephen Lapin-Bertone, who the mom found on Care.com.
Never questioning what they did during the day and assuming he was being well taken care of for the salary she paid him, there was no ignoring what was really going on after the woman got a call from police after the babysitter’s late night at the park with her son.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Joshua Stephen Lapin-Bertone (left), Monterey Lakeside Park (right)
According to WFLA, the pair was at Monterey Lakeside Park on Monday night near Tampa, when they didn’t realize an off-duty cop was nearby and happened to hear what was going on.
At around 11:15 p.m., Lapin-Bertone was seen instructing the boy on how to set off chemical bombs, causing several to explode on his own first, before showing the 10-year-old child in his care how to throw them.
The loud explosions rocked the nearby Logan Gate neighborhood, sending cops and the curious off-duty officer to the scene, where they made an even more alarming find in the babysitter’s car.
Prepared for much more, Lapin-Bertone had additional chemicals used for making acid bombs in his vehicle. Officers secured the chemicals at the scene and called the boy’s mom to come pick her son up at the park.
Lapin-Bertone was arrested and charged with four counts of Making/Placing/Discharging a Destructive Device and four counts of Child Abuse Endangerment but has since been released on bond.
He’s lucky the boy didn’t get hurt in the park that night or at any other time while he was entrusted to this dangerous man. If this was just discovered four years into their nanny arrangements, it leaves one to wonder what else this child has been a part of with his babysitter before now.