California nanny pleads guilty to sexual assault of infant in her care

On Friday, 29-year-old Michelle Nicole Hidalgo pleaded guilty in a Martinez, California, court to molesting an infant she was hired to nanny for and sending pictures to a man she met online. 

According to the East Bay Times, the woman was charged with seven counts of felony child pornography and three counts of molestation. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the child pornography charges and two of three molestation charges.

In agreeing to the plea deal, Hidalgo understood that she would be sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parole in 15 years. Her sentencing trial is scheduled for July. 

Law & Crime reported that in September, Hidalgo was arrested after she admitted to officers she had shared child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) with a man who requested them online in a "stupid" mistake. Police also discovered she had sexually abused the 8-month-old child that was in her care. 

"The Contra Costa County District Attorney's office said at the time, "Officers served Hidalgo with a search warrant at her home and seized equipment used in the production and distribution of pornographic images of minors." It added, "The search of Hidalgo’s home and her arrest came after task force members were notified by a social media company on September 21st that child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) of a small child were being shared on their platform.”

They said the man asked her to commit "worse and worse" acts on the child and agreed to perform oral sex on her. Authorities noted that Hidalgo was not recommended to the family to care for the child, but they found her through Care.com and she was only in the care of the child for a few weeks before the abuse occurred.

She initially pleaded not guilty to all counts faced 60 years to life behind bars, and had her bail set to $3.4 million. The District Attorney's office said "She is a danger" when justifying the amount.