News about child molesters, abusive nannies, clandestine day care centers, and sexual predator teachers swarm the internet and papers every day. For a mom, this is the biggest nightmare! Who do you trust? When Whitney Matney needed a sitter for her 11-month-old baby and a former high school classmate was interested in the job, she felt lucky. However, after many tell-tale signs, she discovered Melissa Medema was abusing her child and now she is determined to change the law in Arkansas.
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The signs were there since the first day the 28-year-old mom left her little Raylee with Medema. The baby was afraid, slept a lot during the day and her home was spotless. Whitney decided to take more seriously her "first-time-mom-paranoia" and bought a nanny cam disguised as an alarm clock. She placed it in the living room and went to work. When she returned, she saw the camera facing the wall and knew something was terribly wrong.
When she watched the footages she saw her baby being left on the bouncer for over two hours. She also saw Medema shake her daughter violently. Shocked and worried, Whitney rushed her baby to the E.R and fortunately she didn't have any injuries. She alerted the police and when Medema returned to work, she was arrested. Charged with endangering the welfare of a minor she spent 90 days in jail and had three years of probation. After completing her sentence her records will be erased and future families won't know about her crime.
Whitney had run a background check, called references and even observed her former classmate babysit her child for an entire day before hiring her. Everything was in the clear. But because the law states that records should be deleted, Whitney had no idea of whether Medema had a criminal past. Now the lawyer mom is determined to change the law in her state. While that happens, fortunately there are few things you can do to protect your children against child abusers.
- Run a background check.
- Request at least five different references and call all of them. Ask detailed questions.
- Install nanny cams around the house.
- Listen to your gut. If something is bothering you, don't ignore it.
- Leave the house only if your child is happy to see the nanny.
- Surprise your nanny, show up at a different hours. Don't be too predictable and specific with your schedule.
- Follow your nanny once in a while.
- Make a schedule for her that includes other children with moms and nannies and inquire about her.
- Become friends with other nannies.
- Ask a neighbor (that nanny knows you are friends with) to show up for a visit.
Image via M S /Flickr
