Diabolical hospital nurse who broke the bones of 9 young children in her care is given slap on the wrist sentence

By EMMA RICHTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:42, 7 June 2026 | Updated: 21:42, 7 June 2026 A vile nurse convicted of breaking the bones of nine young children in her care has been sentenced to just three years in jail.  Erin Strotman, 27, pleaded no contest to nine counts of felony child abuse in January after she was arrested last year for allegedly harming multiple newborn children in Henrico Doctors' Hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Virginia.  The newborns were left with 'unexplained fractures', and the hospital's NICU abruptly closed its doors as police investigated the startling discovery.  The probe led to Strotman being accused of a long list of crimes after police said she brutally abused nine babies from 2022 to 2024.  She faced 20 charges total for malicious wounding and child abuse, and four months behind bars for abusing each of the babies - something that was allegedly caught on video, prosecutors said.  But the plea deal she accepted means that those charges would be dropped and Strotman would be sentenced to no more than three years of active incarceration, despite the maximum penalty being 45 years.  On Friday, Judge Richard Wallerstein sentenced Strotman to five years in prison, but he suspended all but three years, leaving her with the maximum active incarceration sentence, WWBT reported.  Her defense team asked that the disgraced nurse be granted home incarceration, but Wallerstein denied the request, per the outlet.  Erin Strotman, the disgraced NICU nurse who allegedly abused nine newborn children over the span of two years, was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday  Videos allegedly showed her abusing the babies, prosecutors said She was handcuffed and taken into custody, and as part of her sentencing conditions and plea deal, Stroman must surrender her nursing license and can never work as one again.  Stroman is not allowed to work in any kind of healthcare-related job, including home care, her deal outlines, according to the report.  Judge Richard Wallerstein sentenced Strotman to five years in prison, but he suspended all but three years, or the maximum active incarceration sentence Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor said she negotiated with the defense that the county would seek a maximum three year sentence, WTVR reported.  According to the outlet, Taylor said she and the families of the harmed children agreed to that number because they were aware that there was a lack of video evidence, and that the hospital took a long time to report the abuse in 2023.  Relatives of the victims were also in court, with five parents speaking during the hearing on Friday.  Some of them presented small diapers and clothes their beloved babies wore in the NICU, emphasizing how fragile they were when Stroman allegedly harmed them.  Ashli Mason, a parent of one of the children, told the judge: 'I trusted her, and she didn't do right by my family.'  Despite the short sentence, many of the victims' families said they felt that justice had been served.  Relatives of the victims were also in court, with five parents speaking during the recent hearing  Her defense team asked that the disgraced nurse be granted home incarceration, but Wallerstein denied the request 'At this point, I was just focused on, you know, ending this chapter and hopefully not ever having to say her name again,' Dominique Hackey, a father of one of the children, said outside the courthouse.  Malissa Nelson echoed his statement, stating: 'Across the board, there were a lot of fractures, and she needs to be held accountable for that, and that's what took place today.'  Mason said: 'It felt good. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that comes off evil, but I now know that my child's abuser is behind bars, and we'll be going behind bars, and I'm happy with that.'  Before being taken away to prison, Strotman addressed the families for the very first time.  She teared up as she told them she had never intended to hurt their children and that she was sorry for it, WTVR reported.  The convicted criminal said she did not initially think she was at fault, but realized she was responsible as the trial went on. Video footage was presented to the court, with Strotman appearing to place her full body weight on one infant who was crying out. The newborns were left with 'unexplained fractures', and the hospital's NICU abruptly closed its doors as police investigated the startling discovery The incidents took place in the NICU unit at Henrico Doctors' Hospital. They later installed 'angel cameras', which court documents alleged caught Strotman carrying out the heinous act Documents from the Virginia Board of Nursing claimed that Strotman also squeezed the children with 'excessive force' and moved them carelessly, including falling while holding the children and, in some instances, lifting the newborns by their heads. Her defense said she was using a technique meant for gas-relief, but it was argued that the technique was not appropriate for newborns in the NICU. Prosecutors said the hospital had 'virtually no documentation' of who was caring for the infants in the NICU, with no cameras inside the rooms. They later installed 'angel cameras' which court documents alleged caught Strotman carrying out the heinous act. The hospital also started offering additional training on identifying and reporting child abuse, the Post previously reported.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.