Charges Against Danish Mother Dropped in N.Y.

A New York City judge Friday dropped criminal charges against a Danish actress who was arrested after leaving her baby in a stroller outside a Manhattan restaurant while she and her husband were inside.

The case sparked transatlantic debate after Annette Sorensen was jailed for two days and her 14-month-old baby was put into foster care for four days in what her lawyer described as a “clash of cultures.”

Sorensen, 30, and the baby’s American father, Exavier Wardlaw, left the baby outside an East Village restaurant while they were having a drink and watching her through the window, police said.

Passers-by, who said 14-month-old Liv was cold and crying, called police.

The mother’s attorneys said Sorensen did not think twice about leaving the child outside because it was common practice in Copenhagen, and a Danish newspaper called on President Clinton to apologize when he visits Denmark in July.

But city officials questioned the wisdom of being so trusting in New York.

“Leaving a child unattended on a city street for an hour in New York seems to me pretty inappropriate,” said Nicholas Scoppetta, head of the city’s Administration of Children’s Services.

Sorensen had been in the United States less than 48 hours when her daughter was taken from her. After Friday’s hearing, she smiled at a crowd of reporters as she left the Manhattan Criminal Court. Her baby, with whom she was reunited Wednesday, was not with her.

Under terms of the deal reached before Judge Michael Gross, the criminal charges of endangering the welfare of a child were dismissed and the case will be sealed in six months.

Sorensen still must appear in Family Court on Wednesday. Her attorney says she has a plane ticket to leave the United States May 27.

“It is our belief that this was a clash of cultures,” said her attorney, Todd Barnet.

Wardlaw’s attorney, Ron Kuby, charged that the district attorney refused to make a similar deal with his client because he was black. Wardlaw was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and disorderly conduct.