Orange County Daycare Worker: 10 Felony Charges Filed
A 29-year-old woman from Anaheim is accused of abusing an infant over a three-week period, with prosecutors saying surveillance footage captured the violence.
By Valentina Rojas ·
The surveillance camera in the nursery recorded every second of the incident.
Iara Dossantos Bomfim, 29, returned to the United States from Brazil on October 23. Irvine police officers took her into custody that same day. She had flown home to her native country on July 12, a day after the child's mother first reviewed the footage. The mother had heard her three-month-old son screaming and entered the room to check on him. Bomfim told her everything was fine. Later, when the mother watched the recording, the video showed the woman sitting on a yoga ball, rocking the infant violently. The baby's head and neck jerked forward, backward, and to the sides. In a separate clip, Bomfim struck the child in the back of the head with a closed fist.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office announced 10 felony counts of child abuse on Wednesday. Prosecutors stated that a review of the camera archives revealed a pattern of violence. The abuse allegedly began on June 17, when the child was two months and 10 days old. It continued until the child was three months and five days old. During this period, the footage shows the woman hitting, assaulting, and shaking the infant. In one incident, the child fell headfirst from the bed while under Bomfim's care. In another, the video shows her throwing the baby forcefully onto the mattress.
Todd Spitzer, the Orange County district attorney, issued a statement regarding the case. He described the family's nightmare as beginning when a "monster disguised as a loving nanny" entered their home. Spitzer urged parents to investigate caregivers thoroughly and report suspicious activity. "Abuse lurks in the shadows, and it is everyone's responsibility to bring it into the light and protect the most vulnerable and those who have no voice," Spitzer said. The office did not specify whether the infant sustained serious injuries during the three-week period.
Bomfim entered a not guilty plea during her initial court appearance. She remains in custody with a bail amount set at $500,000. If convicted on all 10 counts, she faces a maximum state prison sentence of 18 years.
The next scheduled court date for the case has not been announced in the district attorney's public release.
Source: La Opinión
