Nurse to be charged for assault of toddler, two

A 39-year-old nurse who works at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital is expected to be charged today with causing grievous bodily harm to a two-year-old child.

Yesterday, Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC gave instructions to Inspector Coggins of the Child Protection Unit to charge the woman. She was expected to be detained last evening.

On Sunday she was interviewed for several hours by Coggins and she vehemently denied ever physically assaulting the girl.

Yesterday the child remained in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex with a slim chance of survival.

She has undergone two surgeries to repair a ruptured colon and is on life support.

Two Saturdays ago, her father left her with the woman and when he returned, his daughter complained of pains to her stomach.

The suspect told the girl’s father she was constipated hence the reason for her complaining of pains, and one day later the child began vomiting and was taken to hospital where doctors found she had a ruptured colon as a result of blunt force trauma. This prompted a police investigation and several people were interviewed including the woman.