An intensive care nurse from Virginia, charged with abusing infants, has entered a no contest plea to nine felony child abuse charges.
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, aged 27, was apprehended last January after multiple infants at the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital NICU were found with mysterious fractures.
In response to the situation, the hospital promptly shut down its neonatal intensive care unit as authorities launched a thorough investigation, uncovering a series of alleged offenses linked to Strotman.
Strotman faced accusations of mistreating nine infants since 2022, resulting in a total of 20 charges for malicious wounding and child abuse.
Under her plea agreement, Strotman could receive a sentence of up to three years in prison. This plea omits the malicious wounding charges, which would have necessitated proof of intent, according to The Washington Post.
Additionally, the agreement permanently prohibits her from practicing nursing or engaging in any healthcare-related roles, and she is barred from working with minors or vulnerable adults, as reported by KXII.
Strotman’s defense attorneys made an argument that security footage from the newborn unit did not show any signs of intent to injure the babies.
‘I think it’s a reasonable and just resolution of the charges,’ defense attorney Jeffrey Everhart said according to the Post.
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 27, was arrested in January of last year after a number of newborns in Henrico Doctors’ Hospital neonatal intensive care unit were left with unexplained fractures
The hospital quickly closed its NICU as police began an investigation, and what followed became a long list of alleged crimes against Strotman
The former-nurse’s plea deal would cause Strotman to be sentenced to no more than three years in prison. Her plea drops charges of malicious wounding, which would have required evidence of intent
‘We are satisfied that Erin Strotman never intended to hurt any of these children. We also became satisfied that she probably caused some of these injuries, if not all of them.’
Video footage was presented to the court, with Strotman appearing to place her full body weight on one infant who was crying out.
Documents from the Virginia Board of Nursing claimed that Strotman also squeezed the children with ‘excessive force’ and moved them carelessly, including falling while holding the children and in some instances lifting the newborns by their heads.
Her defense said she was using a technique meant for gas-relief, but it was argued that the technique was not appropriate for newborns in the NICU.
Strotman said of footage of her handling the newborns that it ‘can be perceived as a little too rough.’
‘It looks like I did lean my weight on to him… but in the moment it didn’t feel too rough. A little? Yeah. After seeing the video? Yeah,’ she added, according to the Post.
The first investigation into the abuse began in September 2023 following a report of ‘non-accidental trauma,’ after four infants in their NICU were found with ‘unexplained and concerning fractures,’ the outlet reported.
Investigators discovered these incidents occurred seven weeks before the hospital notified authorities.
Noah Hackey was one of seven babies who suffered inexplicable injuries at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia
Social services determined an unknown employee at the hospital caused Noah’s fracture
An internal investigation put Strotman on leave, but she returned after the hospital failed to identify the abuser. Prosecutors said this internal investigation impeded the official investigation.
They further said the hospital had ‘virtually no documentation’ of who was caring for the infants in the NICU, with no cameras inside the rooms.
According to the Post, the hospital has since fixed these issues, including installing cameras as well as offering additional training on identifying and reporting child abuse.
Strotman returned to work in September 2024, and two months later Child Protective Services received a report of suspected child abuse after a child was found with a ‘constellation of injuries.’
According to the Post, investigators saw that during Strotman’s year away from the hospital there had been no newborns with unexplainable injuries.
The hospital, however, became involved after investigators discovered the suspected abuse went unreported in a timely manner in the case of four infants in 2023.
In the following year, three more infants had been injured, the Post reported.
‘The facility failed to protect and promote each patients’ rights’ by failing to report suspected child abuse within the time federally required to do so, the report reviewed by the outlet said.
Noah’s father Dominique Hackey contacted child services, who found Noah had suffered level 1 physical abuse
Noah has fully recovered. He is pictured with his mom Tori
Dominique and Tori Hackey were one of the parents affected after they welcomed their twin boys, Noah and Micah, at the hospital in August 2023.
Noah was doing well until Dominique noticed his left leg was not moving.
‘It was kind of discolored, I told the doctor on staff, got some x-rays, and we determined he had a fracture to his leg, so we are going to splint it for the next two weeks, and then she was like do you want to hold him?’ Dominique told WTVR.
The couple said they did not want to hold Noah for fears the hospital would blame them for the injury.
‘In my mind I’m like, I don’t want them to turn it around on us and say we broke his leg or anything like that so I was like no, we don’t want to hold him, we are just going to process this,’ Dominique added.
An X-ray showed that Noah’s tibia had been fractured, and, according to Dominique, the hospital suggested the injury was accidental.
‘That’s what they told us, that it could have been done because an injection was given and maybe they did it too hard and it caused the fracture,’ Dominique said.
Dominique said it concerned him so he contacted child services. In September he received a review of their investigation, which found there was level 1 physical abuse of Noah – the worst level in Virginia.
Henrico hospital closed its neonatal intensive care unit after seven premature babies suffered mysterious injuries
The letter from child services stated that ‘following a through CPS investigation this agency has determined the disposition of this report to be founded level 1 for physical abuse of Noah by an employee by the Henrico Doctor’s Hospital NICU.’
The hospital was further unable to know all members of staff who had come into contact with NICU patients, the outlet reported.
Strotman will be on house arrest while released on bond until her sentencing on June 5.
At her sentencing, the families of the abused newborns will speak and the judge will determine Strotman’s sentence.
