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WEST JORDAN — A Utah nanny who admitted injuring an infant after police said nanny cam footage showed her kicking and shaking 5-month-old twins has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Third District Judge Douglas Hogan also sentenced McKenna Newell, 21, of West Valley City, to serve three years of probation. Court records also indicate that Newell has been in therapy and completed an anger management course since she was charged in January.
Newell admitted to a reduced count of child abuse, a third-degree felony, last month as part of an agreement with prosecutors. In exchange for her guilty plea, a second charge of child abuse, a second-degree felony, was dismissed.
The twins’ parents reviewed the camera footage to find that on Jan. 5, after they went to work, the babies began crying while lying on the floor and Newell threw blankets on them, covering the face of one child,” charging documents state. As her “cries became muffled, she struggled to get the blanket off and appeared to be frantically kicking.”
The footage showed Newell shaking the baby and placing her back on the ground, but when the girl began crying again, the nanny kicked her in the leg and rib area several times.
Footage from the same morning showed Newell putting the infant on the couch and “aggressively causing her head to bounce forward,” and kicking the other baby “several times as she laid on the floor,” prosecutors said.
In a statement to police, charges state, Newell said “she was frustrated and didn’t know what to do,” telling officers she was the nanny in the video but felt embarrassed and didn’t remember doing those things.
After her arrest, Newell was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and “was actively engaged in treatment, communicating honestly, taking notes and completing homework assigned to her,” according to a letter from a counseling center contained in court filings. She completed treatment in August, though the center recommended she continue with therapy to make progress toward a set of goals that include managing stress and understanding the events that trigger certain emotions.
Newell used the Care.com website to promote her nanny services, though the website has previously said her profile was closed in January.
The judge suspended a prison sentence of up to five years and a $5,000 fine, court records show. The terms of Newell’s probation bar her from working with those under the age of 18 for three years.
Newell was ordered to report to the Salt Lake County Jail by Oct. 11.
