Virginia nurse charged with child abuse amid probe into NICU babies suffering unexplained fractures

RICHMOND, Va. -- A former nurse who was employed at the Henrico Doctors' Hospital in Richmond, Virginia was charged on Friday with malicious wounding and felony child abuse for allegedly intentionally injuring an infant at the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman of Chesterfield County was charged with one count of felony child neglect which carries up to 10 years in prison, as well as one count of felony malicious wounding for an injury sustained by an infant which carries the maximum penalty is 20 years in prison, according to Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor, whose office is prosecuting this case. The charges are connected to an incident that allegedly occurred on Nov. 10, 2024.

According to ABC affiliate in Richmond, WRIC, Strotman was arraigned on Friday.

Public defender Scott Cardani, who is representing Strotman, told ABC News on Tuesday that she has not yet entered a plea and he declined to comment on the charges. According to court records, Strotman's next hearing is scheduled on March 24, 2025. She was denied bond, according to Taylors office, and was ordered by the court to not have any contact with children under the age of 18.

SEE ALSO: Houston woman arrested for allegedly locking 7-year-old in dog cage under Christmas tree, police say

Taylor told ABC News on Tuesday that while Strotman was charged in connection to a single incident, the investigation is ongoing and law enforcement officials have so far identified seven victims, but added that the number could increase.

"Thus far, we have four babies identified from 2023 and three babies identified from 2024," Taylor said. "However both Henrico Police Division and myself have made public statements encouraging families to reach out if they believe that their babies were impacted. Thus, this number may increase."

Taylor said that her office has been in touch with the families who have been identified so far, but officials did not name the alleged victims involved in this case.

According to the Henrico Police Department, law enforcement officials began to probe this case after the Henrico Doctors' Hospital launched an internal investigation into unexplained fractures sustained by babies in the hospitals NICU from 2023-2024.

All of the previously closed cases related to these incidents have been reopened as part of the recent broader investigation, Henrico Police said in a statement on Dec. 31 2024. All of the families involved in this current broader investigation have been notified, to include those from 2023.

Dominique Hackey, a father of twins, told WRIC in an interview published on Jan. 1 that his son Noah's case is one of those that has been reopened.

"We want to make it clear that Noah didn't have a bone disease. It wasn't accidental. It wasn't from his birth," Hackey said. "Somebody did this to our son and were going to find out who did this."

As this case gained national attention, the Henrico Police Department released a statement on Tuesday cautioning that social media videos alleging that the victims in this case "were targeted by the suspect on account of their race" are "not factual."

"The preliminary investigation indicates this information is not factual," the statement said.

"Due to the sensitive nature of these cases, specific information including race/gender/types of injuries, etc. is not able to be released; detectives do not want to compromise the investigation moving forward," the statement continued.

Henrico Chief of Police Eric D. English said that police recognize that this case has generated feelings and emotions, but asked the public for "patience as our detectives work to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases."

As part of the investigation, police said that they are reviewing dozens of videos from inside the NICU as they pursue a wider investigation with the assistance of the Henrico's Child Protective Services (Department of Social Services), the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorneys Office, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Health, and the Office of the Attorney General.

A spokesperson for the Henrico Police Department confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.

Henrico Doctors' Hospital announced on their website that the hospital's NICU is not admitting new patients at this time.

"We have been assisting law enforcement in their ongoing investigation and will continue to do so. Any media questions or inquiries about that investigation should be directed to law enforcement," the hospital said in a statement on Jan. 3. "We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally impacted by this investigation."

ABC News reached out to a hospital spokesperson for further comment.