MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A teacher at a Montgomery County child care center is charged with aggravated assault, accused of abusing two infants, including one who remains hospitalized.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s office says an investigation into 37-year-old Catalina Baldwin from Phoenixville started around 10:30 a.m. on July 9, when Upper Providence police were called to the Oaks Early Learning Center on Egypt Road for an unresponsive 7-month-old.
The infant had to be flown to CHOP Philadelphia for emergency surgery on injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
According to the criminal complaint, Baldwin told police she was the sole caregiver for the 7-month-old that day, but said there were no accidents or injuries.
But investigators say they found a deleted text on Baldwin’s phone that said the baby “is a nightmare,” sent eight minutes before she alerted the director of the child care center. Investigators said she had Googled “shaken baby syndrome” the following day.
The DA’s office says the baby remains hospitalized, and part of the skull had to be removed for treatment.
Investigators say they also learned of a five-month-old who had to be hospitalized with questionable injuries after being in Baldwin’s care in late May and early June.
Baldwin is charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and was taken to Montgomery County Correctional Facility on 10% of $500,000 bail, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 12.