Neonatal Nurse Pleads No Contest to 9 Charges of Abusing Infants - Will Serve Disgraceful Sentence Despite Damning Video Evidence
A former nurse made a plea agreement, pleading no contest after a slew of child abuse charges were brought against her.
Erin Strotman, 27, worked in the neonatal intensive care unit at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, where from 2022 through 2024, she allegedly inflicted harm on nine children, adding up to 20 charges.
Judge Richard Wallerstein Jr. accepted the plea deal, which includes a maximum sentence of three years in prison despite such heinous crimes.
KVVU-TV reported the prosecution showed footage in court of Strotman “placing her full body weight on the infant who was crying in distress.” The case against her began in late 2024 when hospital staff found three pre-term babies had bone fractures that couldn’t be explained.
Strotman is currently on house arrest until her sentencing in June.
Former NICU nurse Erin Strotman pleaded no contest to breaking bones of 9 premature babies at a Virginia hospital. She was caught on camera. Released on just $25K bond. Sentencing June 5. Justice delayed. pic.twitter.com/IuOTKPA2gS
— Lee Merritt (@LeeMerrittesq) January 17, 2026
She cannot work as a nurse or in healthcare again, nor work around children or vulnerable adults.
Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor commented on the case and vowed to achieve justice for the families of these children.
“I have always made it a priority to ensure that we would be able to ask the Court to hold Erin Strotman accountable for all of the families being impacted,” she said.
“We made a promise to these families that we would continue to work on this matter, and I intended for us to keep that promise.”
⚠️ WARNING: This post contains descriptions of child abuse and infant injury.
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman, 27, a former neonatal intensive care nurse in Virginia, has pleaded no contest to nine counts of felony child abuse. The plea deal follows a lengthy investigation into… pic.twitter.com/mcdXevsd9u
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) January 21, 2026
Three years would hardly be considered justice.
KVUE reported Thursday that Virginia Gonzales, a mother in Del Valle, Texas, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony child abuse, receiving 25 years in prison.
This was a plea deal for Gonzales, 33, after her malnourished 7-year-old was found by her grandmother locked away in Gonzales’ home. The girl suffered permanent brain damage from starvation, weighing just 29 pounds.
A daycare worker in Montgomery County, Tennessee, was given a 20-year sentence after abusing a 13-month-old in her care. Footage during her trial showed the worker, Sarah Fuson, slamming the child’s head into a cot, WKRN reported in December.
Both women hurt children much like Strotman did, but their sentences were significantly longer.
There should not be any hope for people like this to ever get a light sentence.
Twenty years should a minimum.
Three years is unimaginable after hurting someone so young and vulnerable.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
