Neighbors: She's a good mom

FOUR CHILDREN were rescued by firefighters yesterday afternoon after their mother allegedly punished them by locking them overnight in the basement of their Kensington home.

The kids - a 13-year-old boy and three girls, ages 9, 10 and 12 - were discovered about 1:30 p.m. when they called police on a cellphone. Firefighters had to enter the house on Atlantic Street near Jasper through a second-floor window.

Neighbors were stunned by the allegations. They said the mother, who they believe works at Philadelphia International Airport and attends nursing school, had never done anything to raise questions about the treatment of her children.

"She's a single mom who works and goes to school and provides for the kids. They are very well taken care of," block captain Victoria Sipes said. "They go to school, they're always out playing with the other kids, they're respectful. You can't say anything bad about the household."

Officer Tanya Little, a police spokeswoman, said the mother is facing four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses. She deliberately locked the children in the basement about 11 p.m. Saturday night, Little said.

The children were hungry when rescued and taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children for evaluation. They called police on a phone that could only dial 9-1-1, Little said.

"If it's true, she needs some counseling," Sipes said of the woman. "She's a single mother with no support at all. If it's true, she made a mistake."

Mary Abrams agreed. She lives next door to the woman and children.

"I've never heard any bad things about her," Abrams said.