Police: Parents Catch Nanny Abusing Their Son On Tape

Cherokee County detectives arrested a 23-year-old nanny after the parents of a child produced a video tape showing alleged abuse, authorities said.

Detectives arrested Constance Smith of Rockmart Thursday.

Officials said Smith was charged after the parents of a 13-month-old boy reported they had a video of Smith slapping their child in the face, pushing the child to the ground and pinching the child on the leg. The family said they recently began videotaping their living room due to concerns they had about their son's behavior.

"And actually the first day that they placed this video camera, within the first hour of this babysitter watching the child, they captured the images on video," said Sgt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.

The child's parents said they never expected what they saw on the video. They said Smith attacked their son as he stood crying at the bottom of some stairs.

"On the video, you see the babysitter slap this 13-month-old boy in the face. She also pinches the boy and pushes the child to the ground," said Baker.

The parents said they hired Smith from a national online childcare service that specializes in in-home child care -- called www.SitterCity.com. Smith had worked in the home 3 days a week since September.

"Apparently she's been a babysitter for numerous years and has worked for this SitterCity.com for at least four years," said Baker. "It's just one of those things where you can't be too careful about who you invite into your home to watch your children. And fortunately this family was smart enough to capture these images on video."

When contacted by Channel 2, Melissa Underwood with SitterCity.com released the following statement: "Sittercity takes our position as the safest way to find childcare very seriously. We have a detailed four-step screening process that parents can conduct on sitters, including references, parent feedback, an interview process, and background checks. As soon as the allegation was reported to us, we immediately took action and terminated the sitter account in question. As a further precaution, we reached out to our competitors to alert them of the issue. In keeping with our safety-first policy, we have reached out to assist local law enforcement and have spoken to the child's family to express our sympathy and support."

The parents of the boy asked investigators not to release the videotape for fear it may jeopardize their criminal case.

Smith has been charged with Cruelty to Children in the 1st Degree. She bonded out of the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center Thursday night on a $22,000 bond.