Babysitter said she was drinking the night two children in her care were bruised, cops say

A Sarasota nanny is facing child abuse charges after she reportedly told investigators she was intoxicated the night she left bruises on two children she was watching, Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said.

The investigation began after parents of the children called deputies Friday and reported they returned home from a date to find bruises on their 2-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter.

The Sarasota couple believed their children were possibly abused by their usual babysitter, 25-year-old Sarai Rivera, according to the probable cause affidavit. Their daughter had bruises on her face and there was a bruise on the boy’s neck, the affidavit noted.

Forensic nurses who examined the children told investigators the bruises were not accidental but were consistent with the child being pinched or grabbed, according to the affidavit.

Rivera initially told the parents the baby girl’s bruises were from the 2-year-old boy throwing a toy at her face and that she was “kissing the male too hard while playing with him and have him a ‘hickie’ by accident,” according to the affidavit.

When interviewed by investigators at the sheriff’s office, Rivera said she was “intoxicated after drinking rum” once the couple left for their date and noted medication she is taking makes her irritable, deputies wrote in the affidavit.

Rivera said she could not get the infant to stop screaming, so she put her in a high chair and grabbed her by the chin in frustration. When the girl continued to cry, Rivera said she whipped her with a towel in the face twice, according to the affidavit.

The 2-year-old boy’s bruise, she said, was from playing a “tickle game” and could have been from a pinch or sucking on his neck, Rivera told investigators.

Rivera was charged with two counts of child abuse.

Rivera is in protective custody with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Her photo was not immediately available.

This story was originally published April 11, 2019 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Babysitter said she was drinking the night two children in her care were bruised, cops say."