BERGEN RECORD

Local News

CENTRAL NORTHWEST BERGEN 

Saturday, October 14, 2006

New Charges Possible in Baby Beating

By KIBRET MARKOS

STAFF WRITER

An Upper Saddle River nanny caught brutalizing a 6-month-old girl on videotape could face more serious charges once authorities review all of the medical reports, a Bergen County prosecutor said Friday.

Identified only as P.S., the girl remained at Hackensack University Medical Center, where doctors Friday were trying to determine exactly how much damage was done when 51-year-old Manjula Patel of Rochelle Park slapped and shook her, then threw her on a hardwood floor and stomped and kicked her, said Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Liliana Silebi.

Patel said very little when she was brought to Superior Court in Hackensack, where she was formally charged with aggravated assault and child endangerment, both second-degree counts that carry up to 10 years in prison each upon conviction. She remained held on $200,000 bail at the Bergen County Jail on Friday.

Silebi didn't say what other charges could follow.

"The [medical] testing is still ongoing, and depending on what those results are in the next couple of days, there may be additional charges," she said.

Patel, an Indian national, has been in the United States since June. The Upper Saddle River family hired her through a newspaper ad six weeks ago after interviewing her, Silebi said. She declined to comment on whether they had done any background check.

Silebi said the family left a video camera running on a table in their living room Wednesday. After returning home and viewing the video , they called an ambulance.

The incident renewed debate over "nanny cams," with distributors touting their use and nanny hiring agencies insisting they expose a greater need.

"I think it's an absolute stupidity," said Bob Mark of America's Nannies, a Paramus placement agency. "People get cameras, and they think that will excuse their negligence and failure to properly screen their nannies."

Mark said he wondered why the family would hire an immigrant "who just got off the boat," instead of finding a nanny with experience and solid references.

"These are mistakes that people make over and over again," he said. "They cheap out and hire a complete stranger to save a few bucks. Yes, such nannies are to blame for abusing children, but the family is also to blame for giving them the opportunity."

Silebi, meanwhile, said the Upper Saddle River case should be a warning to other parents hiring nannies.

"This is an example of what can happen when you take a nanny into your house," she said. "It's very important to do a background check."

Andrea Flagg, a career nanny and president of the Nanny Alliance of New York and New Jersey, agreed that proper screening -- rather than "nanny camming" -- is the best way to avoid abusive caretakers.

Flagg said she was once "nanny-cammed" by a family she worked for six years ago.

"I felt very self-conscious," she said. "I felt like I was being stalked."

Rhyder McClure, president of The New York Nanny Cam Co., disagreed.

"Are you going to tell me that it's OK not to have a camera when you leave the most precious thing you have -- which is your child -- in the hands of a stranger?" said McClure, whose company distributes cameras in the metropolitan area. "Any parent in this day and age who doesn't have a nanny cam is bordering on irresponsibility."

Christy Ann Bozanian, owner of Be Our Nanny, a placement and referral agency in Leonia, incorporated both views.

"There is never too much protection you can give to your child," she said. "We would want the parents to take every step possible under the law to protect their children."

Nanny cams have become increasingly popular in recent years. Parks Associates, a market research firm focusing on digital home devices, estimated that nearly 40 percent of households with children in 2004 have shown interest in such products.

In 2006 alone, the firm estimates, close to 1.2 million homes nationwide will have installed wireless cameras , said Bill Ablondi, director of home systems at the Dallas-based firm.

Nanny cams have helped solve several child-abuse cases, said Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli. But that doesn't mean parents should rely solely on them, he warned.

"Parents are usually right when they feel that something is wrong [with a nanny]," Molinelli said.

Instead of shopping for a nanny cam , the prosecutor said, they should call police at that point.

"Don't wait for the very harm to occur that you are seeking to avoid," he said.

E-mail: markos@northjersey.com