In a highly concerning case, a New Jersey babysitter has been detained without bail after a video allegedly depicting abuse surfaced, reportedly identified by her distinctive tattoos. Despite her legal team’s argument that the footage was merely an “innocent interaction,” authorities have taken a stern stance.
Victoria Cranmer, visibly emotional, appeared in court in front of Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer on July 14. Following her arrest earlier this month, she faces serious charges including sexual assault and the creation of child sexual abuse material, as well as endangering the welfare of a child and possession of such material, according to reports obtained by Jersey Shore Online.
Asbury Park Press reported that Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Lynn Juan told the court the brief, 14-second video was allegedly discovered on Cranmer’s cellphone. It supposedly captured a 2-year-old girl inappropriately touching Cranmer in a bathroom setting.
The prosecutor stated that Cranmer had been babysitting the toddler at the time, residing temporarily with the child’s family. This living arrangement, it appears, facilitated access to the child.
According to NJ.com, the child’s mother, referred to as Ms. P in the affidavit, had gifted Cranmer the iPhone in April for her birthday. However, following a falling out in May, Ms. P took back the phone, subsequently discovering the disturbing video lodged in the Snapchat memories on Cranmer’s device, authorities claimed.
She was able to identify Cranmer as the person in the video because of a distinctive tattoo she had on her leg of “boobs, a lightning bolt and a mushroom” and turned the phone over to authorities, police noted in the affidavit.
At the hearing July 14, defense attorney Marissa Koerner argued the video depicted an “innocent interaction” between Cranmer and the child, according to the Asbury Park Press.
“Anyone who has spent time caring for young children understands that children often have little appreciation for personal space or privacy,” she said. “Young children routinely follow parents or caregivers into bathrooms, touch things, ask questions, are curious and fail to recognize ordinary social boundaries.”
She told the court it was not unusual for a parent or babysitter to record a child’s “funny, spontaneous or strange behavior” to document a memorable moment, the outlet reported.
She added, “The video has been blown out of proportion.”
Yet, after viewing the video himself Palmer disagreed with that assessment, saying, “The word to describe it is bizarre.”
He contended that although it wasn’t unusual for the child to have followed Cranmer into the bathroom, he found it strange that she allowed the touching, then recorded the incident while laughing.
“I find it to be troubling,” he added, “there wasn’t any attempt to stop the child from touching her in the pubic area.”
Cranmer sobbed in court as he ordered her to be held at the Ocean County jail without bond, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Oxygen reached out her attorney for additional comment, but did not receive an immediate reply.