A Pelham woman has been arraigned on 53 charges after she allegedly tried to pass off her employer’s baby as her own.

A probable cause hearing has been set for Jessica Provencal, 21, operator of Child Care on the Go, for Monday, July 2, in Salem District Court.

Provencal, of 364 Mammoth Road, had been caring for Cindy and Jim Chok’s 8-month-old baby since it was just weeks old.

The parents were horrified to learn that Provencal had put an ad up on Craigslist advertising for a babysitter for “her” baby. Not only had Provencal interviewed several candidates for the bogus job, she’d actually left the baby with some of them and had paid them for their services.

“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare,” said Pelham police Lt. Gary Fisher.

Provencal is being charged with 26 counts of kidnapping, 26 counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of theft by deception.

Fisher said someone called the Pelham police station on Monday, June 2. The caller stated that Provencal was a care provider for several families in Pelham.

She then told police that Provencal was telling people about her 8-month-old baby and was looking for a babysitter. The caller said that Provencal had never been pregnant to her knowledge.

She also told police about the Craigslist posting, which police were able to access.

From there, police tracked down three babysitters interviewed and hired by Provencal, all of whom were under the assumption that the eight-month-old was hers, Fisher said.

When police arrived at Provencal’s home for questioning, the baby was with her.

At the time, she told police that the Choks knew about the Craigslist ad, according to court records. She also supplied the wrong address and contact information for the Choks.

After tracking the Choks down and questioning them about their day-care arrangements, officers learned that Provencal had been caring for the baby on Tuesdays and Fridays since December 2007, when the baby was about 6 weeks old.

Cindy Chok told police she specifically told Provencal that the baby was not to be left with anyone else and said she was completely unaware of the Craigslist posting.

The Choks, who live at 24 Longview Circle, released a statement expressing relief to have their child back safely and thanking the Pelham Police Department for “their diligence in investigating this matter.”

The Choks also warned parents to thoroughly investigate the backgrounds of the sitters they hire, including running criminal background checks and asking for evidence of all the day care providers’ certifications and qualifications.

“Conducting random, unannounced physical checks of your child when they are being cared for outside of your home would also be helpful. Had we done any of these actions, we would have discovered our sitter was not being forthright with us,” the Choks said in the statement.

Each of the kidnapping charges, class B felonies, carry maximum sentences of up to seven years. The class A felonies, endangering the welfare of a child, each carry maximums of seven years or more.

Police are still tracking down other sitters Provencal may have solicited or other parents who have left their children in her care. Anyone with such information is asked to call the Pelham Police Department at 635-241.