The incident occurred earlier this month, Homewood police said.
Police in the suburban town of Homewood, Illinois, just a few miles outside of Chicago, are investigating after a 4-year-old was allegedly put outside in sub-freezing temperatures as part of a "punishment" earlier this month.
According to authorities, a 58-year-old daycare worker allegedly placed the toddler outside in the alley of the daycare for approximately 20 seconds. At the time of the incident, the temperature outside was 19 degrees, according to police.
After that 20 seconds had elapsed, the toddler was brought inside and was placed in an empty garbage can "as a form of punishment," police said.
On Thursday, the daycare worker was charged with one count of endangering the life of a child, a misdemeanor, according to police.
According to Illinois law, the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor count of child endangerment is 364 days in jail, and a fine of up to $2,500.
The suspect in the case was released pretrial, according to Homewood police.