Background: The Cape Coral Police Department in Cape Coral, Fla. (Google Maps). Inset: Kelly Perrigo (Lee County Sheriff”s Office).
A Florida woman who served as a home nurse for a couple caring for their premature infant has received a sentence following her guilty plea to charges of child neglect.
Kelly Perrigo, aged 62, admitted guilt on Monday, several months after her arrest on child neglect charges. The court has sentenced her to a one-year imprisonment term.
Legal documents reviewed by Law&Crime indicate that Perrigo worked for Team Select, a service providing home nursing care for people of all ages, including pediatric and geriatric patients. The infant’s parents, whose baby was classified as a “micro-preemie” after its birth at 24 weeks, alerted authorities upon discovering discrepancies in Perrigo’s reports of feeding the baby.
The arrest affidavit reveals that the baby’s mother informed police of the child’s need for constant medical attention, with a daytime and nighttime nurse covering 12-hour shifts each. Perrigo was the nighttime nurse and, during a September 2024 incident, claimed the infant had consumed all his night bottles. However, the baby’s dangerously low blood sugar levels prompted the parents to question the care he was receiving during their absence.
Upon reviewing home surveillance footage, the parents observed Perrigo feeding the baby for only two to five minutes. Instead of using the baby’s feeding tube for the remaining formula, Perrigo admitted to the authorities that she disposed of it in the bathroom or kitchen, rationalizing her actions by saying the baby “was eating more during the day.”
When questioned by police about her failure to feed the baby the complete bottles as instructed, Perrigo cited “poor judgment” as her reasoning.
Texts between Perrigo and the baby’s mother were included in the affidavit. The baby’s mother repeatedly confronted Perrigo over why she did not feed the baby at all on some occasions and lied about other feedings. Perrigo often cited “poor judgment” and repeatedly apologized.
Perrigo also seemingly pointed the finger at Team Select, telling police that she told them during her hiring process that she had “no pediatric care” experience. The affidavit said that she had been fired from another pediatric nursing job for a premature baby through Team Select. Perrigo’s reason for the firing was that she was caught “smoking in the bathroom,” but Team Select did not provide a reason for the firing.
The parents of the baby said their little boy had issues gaining weight, displayed low energy, and went into liver failure as a result of his lack of nutrition. While the baby survived and was expected to live, the mother of the baby was in court on Monday when Perrigo was sentenced. She stated that the baby had undergone 12 surgeries and will have long-term health issues as a result of Perrigo’s neglect.
Perrigo was sentenced to one year in jail and will have to give up her nursing licenses.
