7-month-old has cerebral palsy after ‘shocking’ abuse from Care.com nanny, WA officials say
A 7-month-old baby boy now has cerebral palsy as a result of severe abuse from a Care.com nanny, Washington prosecutors said.
Amber Rath, 37, was arrested and charged with first-degree assault of a child and second-degree assault of a child, according to court documents filed Nov. 14 at the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this disturbing incident, and our thoughts are with the impacted family,” a Care.com company spokesperson told McClatchy News in a Dec. 5 email.
Rath was hired as a nanny for a family’s then 5-month-old boy in September, prosecutors said. She watched him three days a week.
The family had a camera in their living room and in the child’s bedroom, according to the court documents.
These cameras caught Rath as she became frustrated with the child, shook him and threw him between Oct. 16 and Oct. 17, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the crying child became unresponsive and limp after being thrown forcefully onto a couch in the living room on Oct. 17.
That’s when she called 911 and said the child was having a hard time breathing and wasn’t staying awake, court documents said.
As a result, prosecutors said the child became “critically ill” and had “extensive and severe” injuries.
Baby’s injuries from ‘abusive head trauma’
He was examined by a pediatrician at the Seattle Children’s Hospital, where he was found to have seizures, brain hemorrhaging and brain swelling, prosecutors said.
The child did not have previous medical issues.
The doctors determined his injuries were from “abusive head trauma,” prosecutors said.
He was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy “as a result of the injury to his brain causing issues with the function of his right-side extremities.”
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that can happen if there are abnormalities or damage to a developing brain, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Children with cerebral palsy may have issues with muscle coordination, tight muscles, weakness in an arm or a leg or shaky and involuntary movements.
Prosecutors called Rath’s treatment of the child “shocking and wholly inappropriate.”
All caregivers on Care.com are background-checked through the company’s “CareCheck process before they are able to interact with families,” the company’s website site says.
Snohomish is about a 35-mile drive north from Seattle.
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 6:38 PM with the headline "7-month-old has cerebral palsy after ‘shocking’ abuse from Care.com nanny, WA officials say."
