Nanny Caught On Camera Assaulting 18-Month-Old Child Walks Free; Parents Appeal For Case Review

When Clapham couple Rowena and Jack Churchland took in a nanny to take care of their child Olly, they were confident that their son would be safe and sound in the hands of the person they hired. After all, the nanny was highly qualified and was only tasked to take care of their son once a week as the couple worked in the family business.

Still, Rowena decided to install a security camera inside the room, just to give her an idea how her son Olly was doing while they were not in the house. Not expecting to find anything unusual, Rowena was horrified to discover that the person they had hired for 15 months to take care of their child had been heavily assaulting their helpless son.

Daily Mail did not have the complete video but provided a few screenshots of the alleged abuse. The video was recorded January last year, around lunchtime when their son, then 18-months, was scheduled to receive food and take a nap. Baby Olly was instead seen walking restless around his crib, waiting for the nanny to feed him. The nanny then arrived, but not to provide food for the 18-month-old child. The horrifying video would reveal that the child was repeatedly flung against the sides and smacked three times on the bottom. The child could be seen hitting his head on the side of the crib.

More terrifyingly, Rowena and Jack found that their baby shook violently after being smacked hard on the bottom.

The couple watched in horror after seeing the nanny carelessly throwing the baby onto the crib. There was a moment when the baby’s neck appeared to have snapped backwards.

Rowena and Jack took the nanny to the court last October. Although she admitted to assaulting the child, the jury returned a not guilty verdict and she was allowed to walk free.

The couple are currently appealing for a review of the case. Today, Rowena and the nanny are forced to regularly see each other as both their children attend the same school.

Recalling the event when the couple hired the nanny 15 months ago to take care of the child, the mother said:

“When we finally met she seemed nice — outgoing, capable and trustworthy. Jack and I were happy for her to help.”

The nanny also boasted a number of impressive credentials, such as qualifications in Early Years Training.

Then, when she received a call from a concerned neighbor months later saying that Olly had been left outside the house without guidance, Rowena became concerned. When she asked the nanny about the matter, she said that the neighbors were exaggerating and that she only left the child outside for a couple of minutes to pop back into the house.

She was incredibly persuasive, admitted Rowena.

Upon the encouragement of her mother months later, Rowena reluctantly installed a security camera inside the room of their son. What they discovered would be the nightmare of every parent – an abusive nanny and a helpless child.

[Images from Jack and Rowena Churchland via the Daily Mail]