How would you feel watching a trusted nanny drug your baby? That is exactly what happened to one Long Island Mother as she watched her hidden Wi-Fi enabled camera.
48 year old Anneliese Brucato was promptly fired and charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Caught on camera, Brucato admitted to “forcing what is being described as a generic brand of liquid Benadryl down the throat of the infant.” The packaging of the drug clearly states that it is never to be used in children under 4 years of age. The nanny smuggled the medicine and an eyedropper into the home in an attempt to keep the baby quiet.
“She took this dropper, placed it into a substance, a bottle which she took out of her pants, took some of that liquid and administered it to baby who was laying on table,” Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Kevin Smith said.
Police said the incident was witnessed on a live video feed, but the family had surveillance footage recording on their computer. Going back over images it appears detectives said the nanny may have done this three other times — to make the baby drowsy, against the wishes of the parents. Doctors said the allergy medicine could have caused seizures, convulsions, even death.
The infant’s mother said that Brucato came with excellent references. The baby was examined and is doing fine. The same cannot be said for Brucato, who will be back in court later this week. Thank goodness for the cameras and surveillance footage that will allow this young working mother to keep her baby safe and prosecute the nanny responsible for putting her baby at risk. A perfect example of why every family who employs caregivers in their home must have several types of security cameras.
