Former NICU Nurse Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison After Multiple Babies Suffered ‘Unexplainable Fractures’ While Under Her Care

Erin Strotman was charged with nine counts of child abuse involving babies she treated at a Virginia hospital between 2023 and 2024

NEED TO KNOW

• Erin Strotman was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading no contest to abusing nine premature babies at a Virginia hospital
• Surveillance footage showed Strotman, 27, mishandling infants in the NICU, causing fractures and other injuries, according to local reports
• Strotman’s nursing license was revoked, and she is permanently barred from working in healthcare

A former neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse has been jailed for three years pleading no contest to accusations she abused nine premature babies in Virginia. 

On Friday, June 5, Erin Strotman was booked into jail after being charged with nine counts of child abuse involving babies she treated at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital between 2023 and 2024, according to Henrico County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) jail records obtained by PEOPLE.

On Jan. 3, 2025, Strotman, 27, was arrested in connection with an incident involving a baby at the hospital in November 2024. The hospital opened an investigation into multiple babies who suffered “unexplainable fractures” in the NICU, which led to Strotman’s charges. 

Strotman pleaded no contest to the charges in a plea deal on Jan. 15. She received a maximum sentence of 45 years — five years for each baby she allegedly abused — which was suspended to three years, KATU and WJHL reported. 

Surveillance footage connected Strotman to the incidents, showing her mishandling the babies in the NICU, causing broken bones, among other abusive actions, KATU reported, citing prosecutors. 

The Henrico County Police (HCP) previously said in a news release, “Strotman faces charges of malicious wounding and felony child abuse in connection to an incident that occurred in November 2024.” They noted noted at the time that detectives were “re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation,” PEOPLE previously reported.

In December 2024, the HCP announced in a news release that it would not be “admitting any additional babies into our NICU at this time” after three babies were found with fractures in late November/December. The injuries were “similar to an incident involving four babies in the summer of 2023.”

The Virginia Board of Nursing accused Strotman of putting heavy pressure on babies’ legs and abdomens, using “excessive force” on the infants and lifting them while only holding their heads, WRIC reported.

Strotman’s attorneys argued that her actions came from techniques she learned during her time working at the NICU and that she never meant to hurt the babies in her care, per KATU. 

Noah Hackey was among the babies who suffered injuries at the hands of Strotman after fracturing his tibia while in the hospital’s NICU in September 2023.

His parents received a letter from Henrico’s Department of Social Services, which stated that “following a [thorough] CPS investigation, this agency has determined the disposition of this report to be founded level 1 for physical abuse of Noah by an employee by the Henrico Doctor’s Hospital NICU,” per local CBS-affiliated station WTVR.

Following the sentencing, Strotman’s nursing license was revoked, and she was permanently barred from working as a nurse or a healthcare professional, per KATU.

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HCA Virginia said in a statement previously obtained by PEOPLE after Strotman’s arrest, “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.”

“We are grateful to those colleagues, who have dedicated their professional lives to the care and safety of our patients, as well as to law enforcement and the other agencies who have worked aggressively and tirelessly with us on this investigation,” it concluded.

PEOPLE reached to the Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, HCSO and Henrico Doctors’ Hospital for comment, but they did not immediately respond.