Big Bear, CA, October 1, 2010, 12:00pm – On September 30, 2010, deputies of the Big Bear Sheriff’s Station took the mother of an abandoned baby boy into custody. The infant was left at an entryway of a closed church on the evening of Friday, September 24, wrapped in a towel. The infant was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Loma Linda Children’s Hospital for treatment. California law allows a parent of a newborn infant to legally surrender their baby anonymously and without fear of prosecution to any employee at any hospital emergency room or other designated fire station within three days of birth. The church where the infant was left is not a safe surrender site and was not open at the time the infant was abandoned. Following review of the matter by the District Attorney’s office, a warrant was issued for the arrest of the mother, Tara Digioia, a 32-year-old resident of Big Bear City. Deputies arrested Digioia without incident and booked her into the Big Bear Jail on felony charges of failure to provide for the welfare of a child and child cruelty. Digioia remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail with an arraignment hearing scheduled for October 1, 2010 at San Bernardino County Superior Court.