10 year old babysitter arrested for abusing 23 month old baby

[undeterred]

BELOIT, Wis. -- A 10-year-old girl who was arrested after babysitting a toddler in Beloit who suffered brain and external injuries has been referred to the Rock County Juvenile Probation Department.

Officers said they were called to Beloit Memorial Hospital last Friday because a 23-month-old child had some suspicious injuries. Initial reports were that the toddler fell from a crib, but police said it was determined the child's injuries happened over a longer period of time and weren't consistent with falling from a crib. Police said the toddler has brain bleeding and her external injuries were so severe that she was transferred to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee. The child is expected to survive, but authorities said recovery from the injuries will be a long process.

Police won't say where the alleged abuse took place, but they said the 10-year-old and the toddler aren't related. Police said the 10-year-old had been watching the toddler for the past several weeks. Police said the girl confessed to hurting the toddler.

The Rock County District Attorney's Office said the 10-year-old was placed in non-secure custody at the Rock County Juvenile Detention Center on Tuesday.

A hearing is scheduled for Friday, and the Rock County District Attorney's Office said it is anticipated that a juvenile petition will be filed and the appropriate placement of the girl will be determined by the court.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/24187513/detail.html

I hope some parents are getting arrested for leaving their baby with a ten year old.

[FiveGoodMen]

1. You meant abusing, not accusing, right?

[undeterred]

2. Yup.

[gateley]

3. I'm not a parent but I don't think I'd ever entrust my 23 month old with a 10 year old. nt

[David__77]

4. Society advances economically, and becomes more mentally ill.

I believe adults and children both are becoming more mentally ill in our society. It is highly paradoxical because it's intuitive that as the struggle for subsistence abates, stress would decrease, but quite the opposite is occurring. Just my thought...

[undeterred]

5. I don't think we're advancing economically any more.

A lot of people are struggling for existence. I wonder if the mother who arranged this situation couldn't afford real daycare.

[David__77]

7. I know what you're saying....

I mean that among the many tens of millions who are not hungry and have shelter, mental illness is spreading. Yes, there is a real economic contraction right now, but I am looking at the long run, as in decades. People do live better than fifty years ago in terms of many indicators, but I think the country is going "crazy."

[Whoa_Nelly]

6. Am not getting the connection between mentally ill and a young child not emotionally equipped

or grown enough to be a babysitter. Who knows what the circumstances have been that a mother left her toddler in the care of a another child. :shrug:

[David__77]

28. So what age is the cut-off?

I think that at some point this wasn't all too uncommon. I don't advocate it. But I would say that being 10 does not mean one has a proclivity to physically abuse a baby.

[Whoa_Nelly]

29. In looking it up via Google

in Wisconsin, it appears that 12 is the legal age for a child to be able to stay alone or care for another child.

http://www.latchkey-kids.com/latchkey-kids-age-limits.htm

[marylanddem]

8. It's hard enough for an adult to watch a 23 month old

The parents of that baby should be ashamed, and the 10-year-old treated like a 10 year old.
Good Lord, what a f'd up world it is...

[The Gunslinger]

9. the first problem is..........

a "10" yr old babysitter. Most 10 year olds need a babysitter themselves.

[madinmaryland]

18. Absolutely correct.

[Odin2005]

23. 10-year-olds need babysitters? I was home alone when I was 8.

10 sounds embarrassingly old for a kid to need a babysitter. :shrug:

[TransitJohn]

30. yeah, no doubt.

We (older brother, twin sister, and myself) were getting ourselves ready for school, making dinner, etc., at 7, 7, and 9, had to....father was dead and mother worked shift work.

[Catherina]

10. This is terrible. A direct result of not having proper social services in this country

We need social services for working women so they don't leave babies or young infants under-supervised when they need to work or run errands. This is just terrible. Poor child. Both of them.

[Voice for Peace]

11. somebody's hurting that 10 year old

most likely.

[Canuckistanian]

12. Honestly, is there no option other than arrest?

A 10-year old girl is neither a flight risk nor a danger to society.

She should have been taken into a hospital for evaluation rather than arrested and taken away by police.

And shame on the mother of that 23-month old. How can you MISS SEVERAL INJURIES over a long period of time?

[moriah]

14. Looks like she's being adjudicated as a juvenile instead of charged as an adult.

The juvenile system is more directed toward rehabilitation.

Also, if the 10-year-old is being abused (as many here have pointed out might be a strong possibility), better to get her out of her house and in a safer environment. Regardless, she will get counseling as part of the orders of the family court, I'm sure.

[Canuckistanian]

19. That's good to know

There had to be something else going on there.

[Darth_Kitten]

15. Well, where's the so-called father then?

n/t

[moriah]

13. I babysat at that age....

... but the youngest kid I'd taken care of at that age was 3.

I'd also taken the Red Cross's babysitting class, which included information about the effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome as well as the standard safety training like how to do the Heimlich maneuver or perform rescue breathing on an infant or older child (not CPR tho).

[proteus_lives]

16. Oh, that poor baby.

"I hope some parents are getting arrested for leaving their baby with a ten year old."

I don't know about that. My folks left the baby version of me with my sisters sometimes when they were around 10 and 12.

I think this is just a junior psycho or future child-abuser.

[undeterred]

20. It depends on the child to a certain degree

as well as the length of time the child is being left alone with the babysitter. Expecting a 10 year old to have the patience to look after a younger child for a whole workday is unreasonable, especially if there are no adults around she can ask for help.

A few years ago I found a 3 year old walking down the train tracks at 8:30am. I picked him up and took him to a nearby business where we called the police. It later turned out that he was a child from the neighborhood who had been left in the care of a 13 year old brother. He was supposed to be watching his 3 younger brothers all day while his parents were at work. He didn't even notice his littlest brother was missing.

[proteus_lives]

21. I agree that some children are more mature then others.

But there is a big difference between losing track of a younger sibling and beating them into brain damage.

This child will be in courts again for hurting others, I fear.

[undeterred]

26. There's a difference in intent

but losing track of a toddler... a freight train went through 20 minutes after I found him.

[Odin2005]

25. Or maybe just plain stupidity on the part of the babysitter.

Like the idiot babysitter who shook my friend around when she was little and gave her brain damage and cerebral palsy.

[Darth_Kitten]

27. Well, how smart is it to get a child to babysit a baby?

n/t

[madinmaryland]

17. The real issue, is why is a ten year old being left alone to baby sit an infant.

We would not leave our daughter alone until she was eleven and then that was with the doors locked.

My question is with the child's parents.

[Codeine]

24. Some kids can handle it, though clearly not this one.

We were latchkey kids from kindergarten on up. Never fazed us.

[Gormy Cuss]

32. Kids generally can't handle it for hours at a time.

Most ten year-olds can handle a toddler for a couple of hours with the right supports -- like trusted adults nearby who can be called upon to handle something unexpected or beyond the experience of a kid.

For example, knowing how to handle a very fussy baby without losing your temper is generally beyond the experience of a ten year-old.

[Odin2005]

22. OMG!

:cry:

[moriah]

31. Here's another article that I just saw on this.... more information in it...

Babysitter accused of child abuse in court

A 10-year-old babysitter accused of child abuse appeared in Rock County court as a prosecutor alleged the girl threw a toddler in her care into a bathtub and smashed the child's head on a concrete floor.

The babysitter appeared from a juvenile detention center via closed circuit camera and displayed no emotion during the 15 minute court session.

According to this article, the babysitter confessed out of the blue:

Ten-Year-Old Beloit Babysitter Arrested

Tyler says a ten-year-old babysitter watched the child for hours at a time. And through just a routine interview, confessed to the attacks.

"It was an eerie experience because we weren't anticipating that that was our suspect".

But obviously the cops think something is wrong in the house regardles....

UPDATE: 10-Year-Old Babysitter in Custody

"Anybody who would have contact with that child should have suspected or known that something was wrong here," Tyler says, "The injuries were clearly visible... and should've been detected by someone responsible for that child."

Investigators also say a 4-year-old sibling of the baby has been placed with Child Protective Services.

So, they've taken the other child into custody. They say the injuries didn't all occur on the same day or from the same event. There's something fishy here in my opinion.

They say she THREW the two year old into the bathtub. It's been a little bit since my god-nieces were two years old, but by that age both of them were heavy enough that I did not relish carrying them very far. I have a hard time picturing a 10-year-old girl being able to throw a toddler into a bathtub with that kind of force. Then again, I haven't seen the 10-year-old to know if she's big or muscular for her age, and rage can give a person a lot of strength. But that much rage... obviously *something* is going on with that child.

The injuries described included welts, marks, and bruises. If the bruises had not been in various stages of healing, they most likely wouldn't have decided the abuse had been ongoing. The mother is the one who said the baby fell out of the crib -- from what the police say, though, it should have been obvious immediately that the child did not just fall. While there is obviously a child neglect issue here for not noticing the injuries... I wonder if they were actually inflicted by the babysitter. Did the girl have her parents with her for the interview? Was something misinterpreted, or was she led to confess? Did the baby's parents coach her into saying something? Or, if the babysitter was responsible for some of the abuse.... was she responsible for *all* of it?

A 10-year-old would make a very easy scapegoat to cover up abuse.