Babysitter Shook Girl In Critical Condition: Prosecutors

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL — A 5-month-old girl is in critical condition after a Hoffman Estates babysitter allegedly shook her as many as 10 times because the infant would not stop crying, according to the Daily Herald. Delfina Bautista, 30, of the 500 block of Heritage Drive, faces a charge of felony aggravated battery of a child with great bodily harm, and she was ordered held on $500,000 bail Wednesday, the report added.

The infant, who is in St. Alexius Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit, suffered nonaccidental brain trauma — or shaken baby syndrome — from the abuse, the report stated. Prosecutors said the neurological damage from the girl's injuries mean she will need constant medical care and most likely never walk, talk, see or hear, the report added.

According to Hoffman Estates police, the child was taken to the hospital Sunday when she began to act lethargic after Bautista had watched her Friday, Feb. 16, the report stated. Bautista had been the girl's babysitter for about a month, the report added.

Prosecutors claim Bautista, who is pregnant, allegedly shook the infant between six and 10 times because the girl wouldn't stop crying while she was watching her Friday night, the report stated. According to prosecutors, the babysitter then left the infant and her 11-month-old twins with her 7-year-old child at around 9 p.m. so that she could pick up her boyfriend, the report added.

The mother took the infant home at around 11 p.m., the report stated. At home, a relative saw that the girl was having trouble breathing, and the mother called Bautista to see if something had happened to the infant, the report added.

According to prosecutors, Bautista — who also noticed the girl's breathing troubles after picking up her boyfriend — told the mother that one of her twins had fallen on the infant, the report stated. She then drove the mother and the girl to the hospital, the report added.

The Department of Children and Family Services were contacted after doctors examined the girl and found her injuries to be consistent with shaken baby syndrome, the report stated. That agency called Hoffman Estates police, the report added.

Bautista could face 30 years in prison if convicted. Her next court date is March 15.

More via the Daily Herald

Delfina Bautista, 30 (Photo via Cook County Sheriff's Office)