A Bayfield babysitter accused of abusing an infant child was found not guilty on all charges Monday.
After a 2½-day trial, a jury of six people acquitted Bridget Craig on two counts of child abuse.
After the verdict, Craig left the courtroom in tears with her attorneys. Calls to her attorney, David Greenberg, were not immediately returned Monday afternoon.
Prosecutors accused Craig of leaving an infant child in a child car seat unattended for extended periods of time, including in an office, a bathroom and a closet. They said the incidents occurred from Jan. 1, 2017, to Aug. 16, 2017, in the Bayfield area. Craig was a daytime caretaker of an infant belonging to Elizabeth Quezada and Brian Miller of Durango.
Sheena Goldsborough, a special prosecutor from the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, told the jury last week the alleged child abuse started in January 2017. She said Quezada noticed every time she picked up her daughter, she had a dirty diaper. As time went on, her daughter became sensitive to the word “no,” Goldsborough said.
During a chance encounter in October 2017 at a City Market in Durango, Craig’s former roommate informed Quezada of three specific times she saw the infant being abused, which led the mother to contact law enforcement, Goldsborough said. Formal charges were filed March 9, 2018.
Defense attorneys said the allegations were fabricated by Craig’s disgruntled ex-roommate, Sarah Hobbs, and were brought to law enforcement by the mother in a “rush to judgment” and weren’t properly vetted by police.
When Craig took the stand late Friday, she adamantly denied ever abusing or neglecting the child. She reiterated that the charges were brought on as a form of retaliation.
After closing arguments Monday morning, jurors took about an hour to reach their verdict.
