A nanny for an Irvine family has been charged with child abuse after she was allegedly captured on a home camera hitting and shaking a 2-month-old baby, authorities said.
Prosecutors allege Iara Dossantos Bomfim of Anaheim used the online platform Care.com to advertise her child-care services and fled the U.S. to her native Brazil after the family that hired her found home surveillance video showing her allegedly abusing the infant.
Irvine Police Department officers arrested Bomfim, 29, when she returned to the U.S. and attempted to set up another profile on the same online platform, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.
Bomfim has been charged with 10 felony counts of child abuse, prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday. She has pleaded not guilty and is being held with bail set at $500,000, authorities said.
“This family’s nightmare began the moment a monster disguised as a loving nanny walked through their front door with open arms to care for their brand-new baby,” Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “Whether it is a nanny, a coach, a music teacher, a tutor, anyone who is around your child should be fully vetted and anything suspicious must be reported to law enforcement.”
Prosecutors said the baby’s mother decided to check her home nanny camera footage after she heard her son wailing from the nursery and checked in with Bomfim, who then assured her the baby was all right.
When the mother reviewed surveillance video, however, she allegedly saw Bomfim sitting on a yoga ball and “violently bouncing” the baby, allowing his head and neck to swing around and back and forth, prosecutors said. The footage also allegedly showed Bomfim punching the baby in the back of his head with a closed fist.
Prosecutors said their review of 30 days of surveillance footage showed Bomfim punching, hitting and shaking the baby repeatedly beginning in late June, when he was just 2 months and 10 days old. The abuse allegedly continued for a three-week period.
In one instance, the baby could be seen falling off a bed headfirst while Bomfim was caring for him, prosecutors said. On another day, she could be seen “forcefully throwing” the baby onto the bed, prosecutors said.
Bomfim is accused of fleeing to Brazil on July 12, the day after the child’s mother discovered the footage. Irvine police arrested her last week after her return to the U.S.
Care.com spokesperson Caroline Edwards said the company removed Bomfim from the platform as soon as it learned of the allegations. Edwards said the company’s system blocked the nanny’s efforts to create new accounts and that it immediately reported attempts to get back on the platform to law enforcement.
“Our hearts go out to this family. The safety of children and families who use Care.com is our highest priority, and the conduct alleged in this case is deeply disturbing,” Edwards said in an emailed statement. “We have been cooperating fully with law enforcement and will continue to support its investigation in every way we can.”
Bomfim faces a maximum sentence of 18 years in state prison if convicted on all counts.
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