BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — A Bucks County nurse is being held on $2 million bail for allegedly abusing a child that was in her care, authorities said.
Bensalem Police have charged Cindy Desser, 57, of Jamison, with endangering the welfare of children. She was arraigned on Thursday and is being held in the Bucks County Correctional Center on $2 million bail.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Desser may also have been involved in an assault on another child as well.
Bensalem police opened an investigation after receiving a ChildLine report in late October about a night nurse suspected of abusing a female child whose medical conditions include using a trachea to breathe, according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint states that the child’s mother was changing the child’s diaper when she noticed bruising, including an odd-shaped bruise on the child’s inner thigh.
The mother took the child to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where a doctor said the mark could be a thumbprint. The child underwent an examination that included a full body scan, the complaint read.
Days later police learned from the child’s mother that Desser was the overnight nurse for the child. They also learned that Desser allegedly is under investigation for an assault on another child, the affidavit said.
The mother reviewed video recordings for her daughter’s bedroom, which is under constant surveillance because of the child’s ongoing medical problems, the affidavit said.
She noticed “some very disturbing behavior” by Desser, including multiple incidents where the nurse smacked and slammed the child, the affidavit said. Some of the assaults allegedly are from August, the complaint states.
At least once, Desser was recorded pulling out the child’s trach and taking her time putting it back in, documents state. Dresser was allegedly heard on the video saying, “You did this,” as the child gasped for air, according to the complaint.
The complaint states that the mother forwarded the videos to police, who reviewed it and saw Desser “aggressively throwing” the child around inside her crib as well as smacking her several different times.
The videos also appear to show Desser sleeping when she should be caring for the child, police said.
Earlier in March, police obtained a “code of ethics” that Desser signed with the Bensalem home health care agency that employed her, and it showed she violated “several of the rules and ethics,” the affidavit said.
Bensalem Police said they obtained a warrant for Desser on Wednesday. The Warwick Police Department took her into custody and turned her over to Bensalem Police.