Dad took toddler into San Diego Zoo elephant habitat, officials say. He got probation
A dad carried his 2-year-old daughter as he entered the elephant habitat at the San Diego Zoo, video showed.
The dad turned his back to the elephant but then ran toward the fence when the elephant charged, McClatchy News previously reported. He briefly dropped his daughter before ducking through to safety as the elephant roared and onlookers screamed for them to “get out,” video showed.
“It’s an extremely dangerous situation, and no one in their right mind should ever think about doing this,” Catherine Doyle of the Performing Animal Welfare Society told KFMB at the time.
On Thursday, Sept. 15, Jose Manuel Navarrete, 25, was sentenced to four years formal probation and nine months time served in jail, his defense attorney told McClatchy News.
He was also ordered to stay away from the San Diego Zoo, take parenting classes and avoid contact with his daughter.
In March 2021, San Diego police arrested Navarrete on suspicion of child cruelty after he was accused of taking his daughter into the exhibit. Zoo officials said he broke through several barriers to get into the enclosure.
No one was injured during the incident.
“He is remorseful and knows he endangered his daughter,” Onell Soto, his defense attorney, told McClatchy News in an email.
This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Dad took toddler into San Diego Zoo elephant habitat, officials say. He got probation."