NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A babysitter accused of punching an infant in her care pleaded guilty in Norfolk Circuit Court this week a felony child abuse and neglect charge.
The initial incident occurred on Oct. 17, when parents of the then 5-month-old took the child to the emergency room of the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters with significant bruising on the face. The child did not suffer broken bones or brain injuries.
Veronica Turpin, the child’s babysitter, initially stated that she accidentally struck the child when she was attempting to spank her own son.
Turpin later wrote in a Facebook post: “I felt I needed to get my anger out some way and not take it out on any of the kids so I tried punching the couch and didn’t realize how close I had got to her and before I knew it I had got her instead.”
There has not yet been an agreement as to her sentence. The court has scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 6.
