A New Jersey babysitter, whom investigators say was recognized in an alleged abuse video because of her distinctive tattoos, will remain jailed without bail after a judge rejected defense claims that the footage showed an “innocent interaction” with a child.
Victoria Cranmer appeared visibly emotional during a July 14 hearing before Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer, following her arrest earlier this month on charges including sexual assault, manufacturing child sexual abuse material, endangering the welfare of a child and possession of sexual abuse material, according to court records obtained by Jersey Shore Online.
Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Lynn Juan told the court that a 14-second video found on Cranmer’s phone allegedly captured a 2-year-old girl touching Cranmer’s genitals inside a bathroom, the Asbury Park Press reported.
Prosecutors said Cranmer was babysitting the toddler at the time and had been living with the child’s family.
According to NJ.com, the child’s mother, referred to in an affidavit only as Ms. P, had given Cranmer the iPhone as an April birthday present. After a dispute the following month, Ms. P asked for the phone back and allegedly found the disturbing clip stored in Cranmer’s Snapchat memories, authorities said.
Investigators wrote in the affidavit that Ms. P identified Cranmer as the person in the video by a recognizable leg tattoo featuring “boobs, a lightning bolt and a mushroom,” then handed the device over to police.
During the July 14 detention hearing, defense attorney Marissa Koerner pushed back on the allegations, arguing that the recording showed an “innocent interaction” between Cranmer and the child, the Asbury Park Press reported.
“Anyone who has spent time caring for young children understands that children often have little appreciation for personal space or privacy,” Koerner said. “Young children routinely follow parents or caregivers into bathrooms, touch things, ask questions, are curious and fail to recognize ordinary social boundaries.”
She told the court it was not unusual for a parent or babysitter to record a child’s “funny, spontaneous or strange behavior” to document a memorable moment, the outlet reported.
She added, “The video has been blown out of proportion.”
Yet, after viewing the video himself Palmer disagreed with that assessment, saying, “The word to describe it is bizarre.”
He contended that although it wasn’t unusual for the child to have followed Cranmer into the bathroom, he found it strange that she allowed the touching, then recorded the incident while laughing.
“I find it to be troubling,” he added, “there wasn’t any attempt to stop the child from touching her in the pubic area.”
Cranmer sobbed in court as he ordered her to be held at the Ocean County jail without bond, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Oxygen reached out her attorney for additional comment, but did not receive an immediate reply.
