Nanny Pleads Guilty to Abusing Infant

A Canoga Park nanny was ordered to serve 45 days on a Caltrans crew after she pleaded guilty to abusing a 7-month-old West Hills child under her care, the city attorney’s office announced Friday.

Claudia Martha Rodriguez, 24, was sentenced after she entered the plea in Van Nuys Municipal Court to two counts each of child abuse and inflicting illegal corporal punishment on a child.

Rodriguez was videotaped in late August by the parents of the unidentified infant after they became concerned by their daughter’s change in behavior.

The girl began whimpering in her sleep, crying in the night and refusing to eat, said Deputy City Atty. Patrick Shibuya, who handled the case.

The infant also had nail scratches on one arm and redness on one of her ears. She had also developed a habit of pulling at her own ear and hair.

The videotape showed Rodriguez pulling the girl’s hair and ear, striking her with a television remote control and shaking the infant’s head. The woman was arrested on Sept. 11, as a result of an investigation stemming from the videotape.

Rodriguez, who had been hired to care for the couple’s daughter five days a week, had originally pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment on Sept. 13, but changed her plea Thursday before the trial started.

Rodriguez was also placed on three years probation under the conditions that she take parenting classes and not hold any job involving child care until she has completed them. She was also ordered to disclose her conviction to any prospective employer.