A Brooklyn night nurse was slapped with a 30-day jail sentence Monday after she was caught on camera slapping and shaking a premature newborn inside a Westchester County home last year, prosecutors said.
Gwendolyn Blake was also handed three years of probation and effectively shut out of most nursing jobs during that timespan for hitting the 5-week-old boy as the victim’s parents decried her “violent” and a “significant risk” to other families.
Blake, 40, was supposed to care for the Town of Mamaroneck’s family’s newborn on Aug. 30, 2023, when she struck the baby as he cried, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office said.
“This is a preemie who is colicky because of his low birth weight and instead of being treated with love and compassion, he was abused for being in pain”
The sickening violence dragged on the following day when the cruel nurse repeatedly slapped the child’s face, grabbed his head and shook him, prosecutors said.
Both despicable incidents were captured on surveillance video.
Blake was arrested on Sept. 5, 2023, before she pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child in May.
“This is a preemie who is colicky because of his low birth weight and instead of being treated with love and compassion, he was abused for being in pain … This has been a nightmare for our sons, our family, and our community,” the baby’s family said in a victim impact statement.
“We will never be able to trust anyone with our children and are overly skeptical of anyone they interact with.”
While prosecutors called on the defendant to be jailed 60 days, Mamaroneck Judge Ronald Meister only went with the 30-day jail sentence, the district attorney’s office said.
“She is violent and poses a significant risk to innocent families”
As part of probation, Blake is not allowed to care for the elderly, youngsters or other vulnerable populations, according to prosecutors.
A permanent order of protection was also granted in the case that will keep Blake away from the victim and his family.
“Gwen Blake knew what she was doing behind closed doors, lied to our faces, and went about her business every single day seemingly without a care in the world,” the family also stated.
“She is violent and poses a significant risk to innocent families.”
Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah slammed Blake for violating her professional and moral responsibilities.
“We hope that today’s sentence ensures the defendant will not be able to harm any other children in the future,” Rocah said in a statement.
The district attorney’s office said anyone with information about other potential victims can call the office’s Child Abuse Bureau at (914)-995-3000.
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