Crimes Against Children

Virginia NICU Nurse Gets Maximum 3-Year Sentence for Abusing 9 Premature Infants

Troy S.

June 11, 2026
Updated: June 18, 2026
12:33 am

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HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (BFMG) — A former neonatal intensive care nurse at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for abusing nine premature infants in her care, the maximum punishment allowed under a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Erin Strotman earlier entered no contest pleas to nine counts of Class 6 felony child abuse involving nine infants between 2022 and 2024. She received four months behind bars for each child, for a total of three years of active incarceration.

CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit first reported in December 2024 that the hospital’s NICU had stopped accepting new admissions after multiple infants were found with unexplained fractures. Subsequent reporting highlighted the injuries suffered by the Hackey family’s child and preceded Strotman’s arrest on Jan. 2, 2025.

Further investigation revealed that doctors had raised concerns about the babies’ injuries in 2023, but the hospital waited about six weeks before contacting Child Protective Services, according to court records and reporting. Families of the injured infants said they were satisfied with Friday’s outcome.

“At this point, I was just focused on, you know, ending this chapter and hopefully not ever having to say her name again,” said Dominique Hackey, whose child was among those injured.

“Across the board, there were a lot of fractures, and she needed to be held accountable for that, and that’s what took place today,” said parent Malissa Nelson.

Another parent, Ashli Mason, described seeing Strotman taken into custody. “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 I’m happy with that,” Mason said.

Prosecutors said Strotman broke the limbs of babies she was assigned to care for. Her attorneys argued she was using a gas-relief technique taught at the hospital and never intended to harm the infants.

The nine felony counts carried a potential maximum of 45 years in prison. But Virginia sentencing guidelines suggested no more than six months, according to Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor. Taylor said her office and the families agreed to a three-year cap in light of anticipated challenges at trial, including the lack of video evidence for some babies, the hospital’s delay in reporting suspicions in 2023, and the NICU’s care model before 2024.

Prosecutors said Henrico Doctors’ Hospital did not have a reliable system to track which nurse cared for each infant during the period when the injuries occurred.

“It wasn’t my choice that I wanted to actually do three years. That is not what I wanted to do,” Taylor said. “But … the sentencing guidelines was recommending six months for the abuse of nine babies, so when coming up with a proposed sentence, the maximum cap that we came up with … was six times as much as what the guidelines offered.”

Five parents spoke during the sentencing hearing, showing the judge tiny diapers and preemie clothes to emphasize how fragile their babies were in the NICU.

“I trusted her, and she didn’t do right by my family,” Mason said.

Addressing the families for the first time, Strotman cried as she said she never intended to hurt the infants and was sorry. She told the court she initially did not believe she was responsible for their injuries but came to accept responsibility as the case progressed.

Defense attorney Ted Bruns argued that Strotman performed medical care poorly but that videos of her working with the infants did not show an intent to harm. He asked the judge to consider home confinement instead of jail, citing safety concerns for his client given public anger over the case.

“I know the jail is going to do everything they can to keep her safe, but … the environment around this case has been different than just about anything that I’ve experienced in quite a long time,” Bruns said.

Circuit Judge Richard Wallerstein denied the request, expressed sympathy for the families, and said he hoped that, over time, the children could help their parents “out of the darkness.”

Nelson said she has chosen to forgive Strotman. “Holding a grudge and holding that anger in my heart is not even worth it. It’s just not worth it. So I forgive her,” she said.

Court records indicate the alleged abuse occurred in two phases. Strotman was first placed on leave when injuries were discovered, then allowed to return to work when no perpetrator was identified, after which more injuries were reported.

Strotman’s attorneys said she could serve as little as 65% of her sentence with good behavior.