Virginia Nurse Caught on Video Bending Legs of NICU Newborns Until They Cried In Pain, Fracturing Their Bones Gets House Arrest At Her Parents Home Instead of Jail
A retired nurse accused of maliciously wounding babies in a Virginia neonatal intensive care is free on $25,000 bond, surprising the parents of some of the babies allegedly harmed by Erin Strotman.
Strotman faces multiple abuse charges after authorities said she was caught on surveillance video mishandling a NICU baby. Court documents describing the surveillance video show the former nurse at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) allegedly placing pressure and weight onto a baby’s legs, and pushing the baby’s legs backward to his head.”
In another video, Strotman, according to the criminal complaint, is accused of taking a baby by the legs, then allegedly applying pressure to the baby’s legs.
The document said that Strotman was observed then taking both of the baby’s legs and pushing them backward to where the baby’s feet were at his head. The baby can be heard crying from the pain.
Strotman was then reportedly seen moving the baby’s left leg back and forth, “to which it is observed the leg to not be consistent with a non-fractured leg of a juvenile at that age and condition,” the complaint states.
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, who employed Strotman, informed the public that in late November and December, staff members discovered three babies in the hospital’s NICU unit who had “unexplainable fractures.” The hospital said they had found similar injuries to four other babies in 2023.
Strotman, 26, was identified as a suspect in the case and, according to NBC News, she was placed on paid administrative leave for a year following the incidents in 2023 but returned to the hospital in late 2024, when the second rash of injuries occurred.
“I think we share the same feeling of anger,” Dominique Hackey, father of a 2023 NICU baby, said of the judge’s decision to release Strotman on $25,000 bond. “This is something that we were prepared for, but obviously we didn’t expect.”
While on bond, the former nurse must remain under house arrest at her parents’ home. She cannot be around children or vulnerable adults and can’t provide health care services of any kind.
The judge saying Strotman does not appear to pose a flight risk or a threat to herself.
Details of Strotman’s court-ordered mental health evaluation were put under seal, as well as text messages exchanged with her boyfriend, according to WWBT-7 in Virginia.
A legal firm representing one of the injured babies, now 8 months old, said the hearing came as a surprise to them. Strotman’s bond hearing was initially scheduled for Feb. 11. after an initial bond request was denied the month prior.
The firm, Marks & Harrison, released a lengthy statement calling the judge’s bond decision “incredibly disappointing.”
“This is especially upsetting given the Commonwealth previously shared details of four other similar incidents that occurred in 2023 that led to Strotman being placed on one-year paid administrative leave,” statement reads. “For reasons unknown, HCA Henrico Doctor’s allowed her to return to the NICU in 2024 where the Commonwealth’s Attorney stated, at least three other babies suffered fractures. Strotman was arrested on Jan. 2, 2025, specifically on charges related to Baby YH’s injuries.
“Our heart breaks for Baby YH and the other premature babies – both known and unknown – who suffered similar broken bones and other injuries while in the care of Henrico Doctor’s NICU in 2023 and 2024,” the statement continues. “We respect the Court’s decision, but do not believe the accused nurse should have been granted bond under any circumstances.”
The statement concluded with a reminder that “Erin Strotman can walk around freely and Baby YH (the firm’s client) is still in a NICU at a different hospital.”
