Homeless woman arrested for attempting to kidnap two toddlers from NYC playground: police

A homeless woman with a long criminal record is accused of attempting to kidnap two young children from a Manhattan playground in broad daylight earlier this week in a brazen act, police and prosecutors said.

Jessie Pennill, 34, was caught after she eyed the two toddlers – a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old – in Madison Square Park on Wednesday afternoon, according to a criminal complaint.

She is accused of first picking up the one-year-old child while he was playing and then refusing to return him to the child's caregiver, who had to forcibly rip the toddler from Pennill's arms, the indictment says.

The alleged perpetrator then quickly grabbed the other child and made his way toward the park exit, according to court documents. It did not mention whether the children were related.

The two-year-old child's caregiver managed to thwart the kidnapping attempt by yelling at Pennill to put the child down, the complaint continues.

It was not immediately clear whether the two adults caring for the children were their parents or possibly their nannies.

Pennill was arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.

According to police, she has already been arrested several times, including six times for assault in 2011.

According to police, Pennill was last arrested on July 12 when he randomly punched a victim in the face at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 125th Street in East Harlem.

She is currently being held on $15,000 bail and her next court hearing is scheduled for August 20.