Babysitter pleads not guilty

FREMONT – A Clyde babysitter on Monday denied charges that she abused an infant in her care in December.

Chantal Thoss, 34, pleaded not guilty in Sandusky County Common Pleas Court to one count of felonious assault and one felony count of endangering children. She will have a pre-trial at 9 a.m. May 5.

Thoss has been out of jail since Jan. 15, when she posted bail.

Thoss is charged with hurting 8-month-old Elijah Arriaga while babysitting him at her home. The boy suffered seizures, brain hemorrhaging and other ailments, his grandmother has said.

A civil lawsuit Elijah’s mother filed against Thoss alleges the boy suffered from shaken baby syndrome. The mother is seeking more than $100,000 in damages.

The night the boy was hurt, Thoss told police he fell from an ottoman onto the floor while she was out of the room, according to Clyde police reports.