ATTLEBORO - The teenage niece of a woman accused of dealing crack cocaine from her Attleboro apartment ran away from home to escape that sordid world, authorities say.

Joyce Cross, legal guardian of 15- and 17-year-old sisters, was dealing drugs from her apartment at 8 Leroy St. in the presence of her nieces, police allege.

Cross was arrested Wednesday in a raid by area drug task force detectives.

A police prosecutor in Attleboro District Court said Thursday that the 17-year-old niece told police her younger sister ran away from home because of alleged drug dealing in the apartment.

"It's disturbing she would do this in front of the children," Attleboro police prosecutor Richard Woodhead said of Cross, 55. The 15-year-old girl was arrested before Wednesday's raid for being a runaway and is now in state custody, Woodhead said.

The 17-year-old, who has a 1-year-old son, was to be placed in a program for teenage mothers, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services.

Cross was ordered held in jail on $5,000 cash bail after pleading innocent to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. She denies exposing her nieces to drugs.

A man in her apartment during the raid, Michael Maney, 41, who is homeless, was ordered held on $500 cash bail after pleading innocent to possession of cocaine. Police said he was not involved in the drug dealing.

When police raided the apartment, the 17-year-old girl was home and police found Cross in her bedroom with Maney, Woodhead said.

Cross led police to a safe in her bedroom where two plastic bags of crack cocaine were located, in addition to a scale and other alleged drug paraphernalia, Woodhead said.

Woodhead said police learned Cross would bring customers into her bedroom to sell them cocaine and they would leave shortly afterwards, or she would meet them in her car.

But Attleboro defense lawyer Patricia Perry said Cross denies exposing the children to drugs and added that most of what is alleged occurred behind closed doors.

"She fully cooperated with the police investigators and the children were never exposed to the drugs," Perry said.

The lawyer said Cross is divorced and unemployed and has lived with her nieces in the apartment for the last two years. She said her client has never been arrested on drug charges. Perry also told the court that Cross told her the 15-year-old has psychological problems because of past abuse before coming to live with Cross.

Police said they seized about $2,000 worth of crack cocaine, $100 cash, a scale and other alleged drug paraphernalia in addition to Cross's 2000 Pontiac Sunfire car.

Cross and Maney are due back in court April 18 for pretrial hearings.