Sutton nursery worker assaulted crying baby by rocking its head ‘too vigorously’ back and forth
A Sutton nursery worker who assaulted a baby by rocking its head "too vigorously" back and forth later admitted CCTV footage of the incident looked "horrendous," a court heard.
Nyah Stone appeared "agitated and snappy" with the baby, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at a day nursery in Huthwaite in October last year.
CCTV showed the child began crying and screaming when Stone took it from its cot, and she said nothing and looked angry, said Catherine Wilson, prosecuting.
A co-worker asked, “Are you OK? Do you want me to take over?”
She said Stone looked “stressed” while pushing the baby's head down and “jiggling” her too fast on her lap, before storming out of the room.
The witness said she initially felt guilty about reporting Stone to their manager but later concluded she did the right thing.
When she was interviewed by police, Stone “admitted the footage looked awful” but believed she was just rocking the baby and said: “It certainly didn’t feel like that in real life.”
"She maintained she was calm, but said now she feels awful and admitted the footage looks horrendous,” said Ms Wilson.
Stone said she was trying to soothe the baby but “went beyond what was appropriate” and was "too vigorous."
Her solicitor said she has no previous convictions and deserves credit for her early guilty plea.
“She is extremely sorry for what she did,” he said. “The baby's mother reports there were no injuries or health concerns.
“She doesn’t remember feeling agitated but admitted that if it was her child she wouldn’t be happy. Clearly this is an assault by the use of force going too far.”
He said Stone had recently been the victim of a serious assault and is receiving help from her GP for suspected post-traumatic stress disorder. The qualified nursery assistant’s “ideal career path” has now come to an end, he added.
"It is unfortunate,” he said. “It is something I would suggest is not going to repeat itself. It was a one-off.”
Stone, aged 22, of Columbia Street, Huthwaite, admitted common assault when she appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday, April 21.
Sentencing was adjourned until June 25 for pre-sentence reports.