Hudson Valley Nanny Going To Jail For Abusing 3-Month-Old Baby

WHITE PLAINS, NY — A White Plains nanny will be going to jail for assaulting a baby who was in her care.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah said Tuesday that Nija Woodbury, 23, of White Plains, was sentenced Monday to six months behind bars after pleading guilty in July to felony reckless assault of a child.

In addition to incarceration, she was sentenced to five years of probation.

Rocah said Woodbury endangered the life of a defenseless baby and also traumatized a family who had entrusted her with the care of their child.

“This sentence ensures some measure of accountability for her reckless actions,” she said.

Prosecutors said, around 5 p.m. Jan. 10, 2023, Woodbury, who was employed as a nanny for a Mount Pleasant family, aggressively shook and bounced a 3-month-old baby without supporting his head.

After she placed the child back into his crib, the child’s mother saw the baby in a strange position on the baby monitor.

After realizing the baby was seizing, turning blue and unresponsive, the mother called 911.

Woodbury was present during that time and said nothing about what she had done earlier to the baby.

The baby was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where he continued to seize and vomit. CT scans revealed bilateral subdural hematomas and bilateral retinal hemorrhages, which are indicators of a shaken baby, according to prosecutors.

The child was treated for abusive head trauma for a week in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Rocah’s office conducted forensic analysis of Woodbury’s phone and retrieved deleted text messages from earlier in the day of the incident that indicated her frustration when the baby would not stop crying.

Once confronted with her deleted text messages, Woodbury admitted to Mount Pleasant police that she had bounced and shaken the baby in a manner that she knew was unsafe.

The Mount Pleasant Police Department arrested her Jan. 13, 2023.

In a statement to the court, the baby’s mother said that, before this happened, she never thought that someone was capable of doing this.

“I used to always believe that people are innately good and that I can trust my intuition,” she said. “I now no longer feel that way.”

The mother said she has dealt with the overwhelming guilt about allowing Woodbury in her home and being responsible for introducing her to what she holds most dear — her precious baby.

“It will never feel like there is justice for what she has done and put our family through,” the mother said.

Anyone who may have information about other possible victims can contact the DA’s office Child Abuse Bureau at 914-995-3000. Language assistance is available.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article said the baby was 3 years old. That is incorrect. The baby was 3 months old. Patch regrets the error.