A California nanny has been charged with 10 felony counts of child abuse after investigators allegedly found footage showing her repeatedly striking and violently shaking an infant in her care over several weeks, officials said.
Iara Dossantos Bomfim, 29, was arrested Friday after returning to the United States from Brazil, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said she had left for Brazil in July, shortly after the child’s mother discovered footage of the alleged abuse on the family’s nanny camera.
The mother reviewed the recordings on July 11 after hearing her 3-month-old son scream. Bomfim had told her everything was fine, but the footage allegedly showed the nanny bouncing the baby violently on a yoga ball, causing his head and neck to move back and forth before striking him in the back of the head with a closed fist.
A review of the previous 30 days of footage allegedly revealed additional incidents beginning June 17, when the boy was about 2 months old. Prosecutors said the recordings showed Bomfim hitting and shaking the infant, throwing him forcefully onto a bed and, in another incident, the baby falling headfirst off the bed while in her care.
Authorities said Bomfim returned from Brazil and was trying to create another account on Care.com to advertise her nanny services when she was arrested by Irvine police on Oct. 23.
Bomfim has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $500,000 bail. If convicted on all 10 counts, she faces a maximum sentence of 18 years in state prison, prosecutors said.