NEWARK — The Nutley woman facing child endangerment charges after her 5-year-old daughter allegedly suffered burns in a tanning salon vehemently denied wrongdoing before her initial court appearance in Essex County this morning.

Patricia Krentcil, 44, who was charged April 24 after the girl showed up at her elementary school with burns, said her child instead tanned from a long day in the sun a few days before that.

“It’s a lie,” Krentcil said of the charge.

“She never went in there,” meaning a tanning salon, she said.

Krentcil was interviewed outside the Newark courthouse where she was scheduled to appear later today in Superior Court.

Once inside the courtroom, Krentcil — wearing tan pants, a beige trench coat, a green scarf and brown nail polish — sat in the front row with her husband, waiting for the hearing to begin. They were joined by Krentcil's attorney.

Last night, Krentcil was interviewed on CBS-TV and said she never could have had taken her daughter into the tanning booth because "there's no room (and) I would never permit it."

RELATED VIDEO: Krentcil's interview with CBS-TV

Krentcil said she would not subject her young child, who she said is now 6, to the ultraviolet light emitted in tanning salons.

She did say that her daughter does like to tan in the sun, much like her mother.

“I love to tan, as you can see,” said Krentcil, who is a deep golden brown, “I’ve gone tanning my whole life.”

“She goes tanning with mommy,” said Krentcil. “She wants to be like mommy.”

State law prohibits children under the age of 14 from using tanning salons.

Police were notified by school administrators of the girl’s injuries and Krentcil was arrested a short time later, a spokeswoman from the prosecutor’s office, Katherine Carter, said.

According to police, Krentcil took her daughter into a stand-up tanning booth in the week prior to her arrest. But staff at the Nutley tanning salon, which was not identified, said they didn’t see the child in the booth, according to reports.

Krentcil posted $25,000 bail and was released to Camden County authorities, where she had an outstanding municipal charge, Carter said.

The child is in the custody of her father, Carter said. The name of the tanning salon was not released because it is not been charged in the incident, she said.

The investigation is continuing, Carter said.

Related coverage:

• N.J. tanning mom appears in new TV interviews, much darker than her arrest photo

• Nutley woman charged after 5-year-old daughter burned in tanning booth, officials say

