Inset: Viviana Ortiz-Lopez (Marion County Jail). Background: The 1300 block of SE 41st Court in Summerfield, Florida, where authorities said Ortiz-Lopez abused an infant in her care (Google Maps).
A Florida babysitter accused of hitting an infant hard enough to leave facial bruising and “four distinct red lines” described by investigators as consistent with a slap mark has resolved her criminal case with a plea.
Viviana Ortiz-Lopez, 30, pleaded no contest to child abuse without great bodily harm. The court withheld adjudication, credited her for more than 160 days already served in jail, and placed her on five years of probation. As part of the outcome, Ortiz-Lopez also agreed she will not provide child care for children who are not her own.
According to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the baby suffered “significant bruising to the face.” Deputies wrote that the child’s father said his wife picked the infant up from Ortiz-Lopez’s home around 1 p.m. on March 10 and immediately noticed the injuries.
Ortiz-Lopez allegedly told the child’s mother that the baby had caused the injuries herself. Investigators said Ortiz-Lopez also suggested the mother bring mittens for the infant so the child would not hurt herself.
After returning home, the mother photographed the baby’s injuries. The child’s father then contacted law enforcement and provided the images to deputies.
“In the photos I observed apparent bruising along the victim’s left cheek,” deputies wrote in the affidavit. “I also observed four distinct red lines which would be consistent with a slap mark. On the victim’s nose, I observed swelling and more bruising which ran to underneath her eyes.”
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The affidavit states the mother had dropped the baby off at Ortiz-Lopez’s residence in the 1300 block of SE 41st Court in Summerfield at about 8 a.m. Roughly five hours later, deputies said, Ortiz-Lopez called the mother and asked her to pick up the child because the infant was crying “non-stop” and was preventing other children at the home from sleeping.
The defendant “sounded desperate for her to come to come get the victim,” the affidavit said. As the mother questioned Ortiz-Lopez about the bruising, she continued to insist the baby did it to herself, according to cops.
The baby had only been going to the defendant’s home for two days after being recommended by a mutual friend. After the incident, the mom called her friend, who said she had to pull her kids out because she suspected Ortiz-Lopez was hitting the kids. The friend said she didn’t contact cops because she was fearful of the defendant, according to the affidavit.
Doctors who examined the baby at the hospital concluded the injuries were likely inflicted by an adult.
Deputies had the mother call Ortiz-Lopez while they were listening in, but the defendant continued to say she didn’t hit the baby. In an interview with investigators, Ortiz-Lopez allegedly made several “contradictory statements,” first saying the baby was covered with a blanket and she didn’t see her at first when the mother dropped her off. Then, Ortiz-Lopez said she saw the baby rubbing her face with the blanket and that is what caused the bruises.
Ortiz-Lopez “never changed her attitude” and appeared “very calm” even though she was being accused of abusing a baby.
Deputies noted that the bruising on the baby’s face was roughly the size of the defendant’s hand.
The post Babysitter who smacked infant in the face ‘leaving 4 distinct red lines’ isn’t going to jail but her childcare days are over first appeared on Law & Crime.
