Patricia Krentcil, widely known as "Tan Mom", has said she was targeted by ICE agents because of the artificial colour of her skin, years after she was acquitted of child endangerment.
Krentcil hit headlines in 2012 when it was alleged she took her then-five-year-old daughter into a tanning salon. She was accused of child endangerment for allegedly exposing her child to artificial UV rays, jailed for a week, and later acquitted.
ICE Stop Outside a Bar
In a recent interview, Krentcil said she was out with friends when her dark skin drew attention. She recalled: "I had been out with my girlfriends and we left the bar and then there were these ICE agents there, talking to us."
"The ICE people stopped me and asked me if I was an American citizen, because I was so tanned," she said. "They were about to handcuff me, and take me away. God knows where. Once you get in them vans, you never know where you're going to end up. I was scared but held my own and got myself out of the situation."
She said this was not the first time she had been unfairly targeted because of her skin colour and choice to tan excessively.
Child Endangerment Case
It has been reported that police had to intervene a few years back when Krentcil's daughter allegedly arrived at school with her body covered in sunburn. Krentcil claimed there was only "a little bit of burn on her back."
"I was accused of child endangerment. I was vindicated through the courts," she told The Post in America. "The owner of the tanning salon told the police when they came and asked, 'Did she bring her daughter into the booth?' and the owner said: 'No.' I did nothing wrong, period. It doesn't bother me anymore. It's two separate people. There's Tan Mom, celebrity, and then there's Patricia, Mom."
In 2013, a grand jury refused to indict her, and she continued to have custody of her daughter. Krentcil, 54, told The Post's "I Survived Internet Infamy" series: "I was dubbed 'Tan Mom' all over tabloids, and this turned into the most massive hurricane in the world. It went global. There are no words to describe what happened to me and my family."
