HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A Henrico Circuit Court judge has modified Erin Strotman's bond to allow her to visit her niece and nephew, at the request of her family.
Strotman stands accused of abusing multiple babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Henrico Doctors’ Hospital where she previously worked. She faces 20 charges including child abuse and malicious wounding.
Only CBS 6’s camera was rolling when Strotman, her parents, brother, and sister-in-law walked into the Henrico Circuit Court for a Wednesday morning status hearing.
Strotman’s sister-in-law testified during the 30-minute hearing. She told Henrico Circuit Court Judge Richard Wallerstein she is a board certified assistant behavioral analyst and is mandated to report crimes and abuse to authorities.
The defense requested, at the request of Strotman’s family, that the judge allow Erin’s young niece and nephew to visit their grandparent’s home for a supervised visit.
As part of her bond, Strotman was not to have any contact with children and remain at home with her parents.
The sister-in-law testified that her two children are Erin’s “best friends” and missed her aunt. The defense argued, “Families need to spend time together” and the victims she’s alleged to abuse were all babies specifically in a hospital NICU.
The Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office argued against the motion saying they were against granting her a bond from the beginning.
“Due to the facts underlying these charges, that we have made representations to the court that we did not believe that Ms. Strotman was someone who should be released from confinement at the jail,” Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said following the hearing.
Prosecution cited contentious texts between Strotman and her boyfriend that they argued proved a history of domestic violence and prescription drug abuse.
Judge Wallerstein agreed with the defense allowing Strotman to have “sight and sound” supervisions in her parent’s home without her boyfriend present and no overnight visitation.
Strotman’s defense also asked the judge to modify her bond to allow her to step outside of the confines of her parent’s home to spend time on the back deck, which Wallerstein granted.
The former nurse has been out on bond since February, angering the parents of the victims who have talked to CBS 6.
“When you are also talking about a case that involves families who are the victims, we also have to remember those families as well,” Taylor stated. “That is why it's always been important for the Commonwealth to stand up to make the arguments that we have always believed to be true and based in the facts and based in the law.”
Strotman cannot practice nursing and must remain in home confinement with GPS monitoring until her 10-day trial in February.
We are following this story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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