There may be more to the story, but for what it's worth, Skellon (Freedom Airlines) is now backpedaling, saying that the flight attendant acted innapropriately and has been disciplined.

A brief excerpt of his response:
" We concluded that the flight attendant in question acted contrary to the Company's expectations. We believe our disciplinary action was appropriate [no mention of what this action was] and was taken after considering all of the facts leading to this incident. I do believe it is worth noting that the events described in the article failed to include the fact that the flight attendant in question was young and new to her job. Furthermore, following the incident, the Captain apologized to the passenger and her family and immediately requested that they be re-boarded for their flight (an offer the family refused). "

Mrs. Gillette is denying that she was asked to reboard; given that there was no mention of this offer until today, and knowing that were I in her position, having just had to keep a child content over a 3 hour delay, I would have wanted to get the trip over with as quickly as possible, I'm inclined to believer her. However, who knows.