The 3-month-old suffered seizures and head trauma; defendant admitted to bouncing, shaking baby in an unsafe manner
On Feb. 6, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced that a White Plains woman was sentenced on Monday to six months of incarceration for the reckless assault of a 3-month-old baby that was in her care while employed as a nanny.
DA Rocah said: “The defendant 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.”
The defendant, Nija Woodbury, 23, pleaded guilty on July 27, 2023, to Reckless Assault of a Child, a felony. In addition to her term of incarceration, the defendant was sentenced to five years of probation.
At approximately 5 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2023, the defendant, who was employed as a nanny for a family in Mount Pleasant, aggressively shook and bounced the 3-month-old victim without supporting his head. After the defendant placed the victim back into his crib, the victim’s mother observed the baby in a strange position on the baby monitor. Upon realizing the baby was seizing, turning blue and unresponsive, the victim’s mother called 911. The defendant was present during this time and said nothing about what she had done earlier to the baby.
The victim was transported to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where he continued to seize and vomit. CT scans revealed bilateral subdural hematomas and bilateral retinal hemorrhages—indicators of a shaken baby. The victim was treated for abusive head trauma for a week in the pediatric intensive care unit.
The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office conducted forensic analysis of the defendant’s phone and retrieved deleted text messages from earlier in the day of the incident that indicated the defendant’s frustration when the baby would not stop crying. Once confronted with her deleted text messages, the defendant 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 the defendant on Jan. 13, 2023.
In a statement to the court, the victim’s mother stated: “Before this event, I 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–I now no longer feel that way. I have dealt with the overwhelming guilt about allowing Nija in my home and being responsible for introducing her to what I hold most dear, my precious baby. It will never feel like there is justice for what she has done and put our family through.”
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.
The case was before Judge Maurice Williams in Westchester County Court and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Charlotte Gudis of the Special Prosecutions Division.
