Police: Nanny arrested in two assaults on Searingtown infant

A live-in baby-sitter was arrested Friday in Searingtown after she was seen on a nanny cam slapping a 2-week-old girl twice in one week, Nassau police said.

Police said the parents were prompted to review the video after hearing the infant suddenly cry out about 1:40 a.m. Friday. The video showed Stacy Sakeran, 57, “forcefully moving the baby around and slapping her in the face,” according to police.

The parents then began reviewing earlier footage and found a clip from Tuesday showing Sakeran yelling at the infant and hitting her several times with an open hand, police said.

Sakeran, of Jamaica, Queens, was arrested at 4:10 a.m. Friday at the family’s Searingtown home and charged with two counts of felony second-degree assault and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She was held pending arraignment Saturday.

Sakeran’s family could not immediately be reached Friday. It was not known if she had retained a lawyer.

The baby was being checked out at a hospital Friday night and the father, Sibi John, and his wife were awaiting test results there, John said.

He said the child appears to be all right so far and voiced relief that the nanny’s alleged acts were caught early on. “We got lucky,” the father said.

“I was very, very upset,” he said.

He said Sakeran was referred to his family by Lullaby Services and that he had checked out the nanny’s references.

The owner of Lullaby Services, Josephine Chrouch, said she placed Sakeran on her baby nurse referral list two months ago after confirming her references.

Sakeran also cleared a background check, she said.

“She has got stacks of references,” said Chrouch, a former English nanny. “It’s more than you see with anyone else.”

Newsday staff with Joan Gralla