Rowena and Jack Churchland anticipated to discover nothing suspicious when they sat down to review footage from the camera they had set in their son’s nursery.
Since Rowena had unwillingly chosen a nanny to care for their beautiful kid one day a week while she went to work in the family company, they had simply put it there as a precaution, believing it would give her piece of mind.
Instead, they were terrified by what they witnessed on that freezing Saturday night in January. In horrifying detail, they saw their 18-month-old kid being abused by the nanny they had hired.
Olly slept restless in his cot for over an hour during his scheduled midday sleep, but he received no reassuring words from his parents.
Instead, his stone-faced nanny grabbed him up, tossed him forcibly against the mobile above his cot so that he hit his head, and spanked him hard on the bottom three times, causing his body to tremble.
The Churchlands were shocked beyond belief to watch the nanny of their son, who had been in her care for 15 months, lose her cool on camera for the first time.
They were so shocked and horrified by what they saw on the video that they turned it over to the police. The CPS subsequently filed charges against her for cruelty against a minor.
Despite Rowena’s nanny’s admission that she had assaulted Olly during the trial at Southwark Crown Court in October, the jury found her not guilty of cruelty and she was allowed to go free.
They have asked for a review of the case and are currently waiting to hear back. Rowena continues to run into the lady who abused her kid on a regular basis since their children attend the same school.
Seeing her every day brings it all back,’ she mutters. Jack and I are both helpless. All we can do now is accept that our little son was molested and attempt to go on with our lives.
This is the stuff of nightmares for parents, especially in today’s society when both mom and dad are more likely to have to work outside the home.
Rowena, age 39, and Jack, age 30, both of Clapham, South West London, were such a pair. They’ve been together for 10 years and married for eight, and they have two kids, Bella, eight, and Olly, two.
Rowena used to be a full-time housewife. In May of 2011, when their son Olly was born, she was required back at work since she and her husband had started their own heating installation business.
She explains that even though business was booming, they were unable to hire an additional office worker. “It was the hardest thing I’d ever done to go back to work when Olly was three months old, but the business was our livelihood.”
After Olly’s two grandmothers took care of him at first, his parents realized they needed more support and turned to Rowena’s daughter’s school for assistance.
“One of the moms at the school was looking for work,” she explains. Aside from being an engaged member of the community and a parent with a kid enrolled at Bella’s school, she also held credentials in Early Years Training. When we eventually met, she presented as pleasant — talkative, strong, and reliable. Both Jack and I were relieved to have her assist us.
When Olly was five months old in the fall of 2011, his nanny, Agatha, began working for the family sometimes from 8.45 a.m. to 3.15 p.m.
Rowena and Jack had few complaints to make at first. But as time went on, Rowena realized the strange occurrence had made her nervous. For example, “I once saw Agatha in the supermarket doing her shopping while she was with Olly, but she later denied being there.”
Then, during Easter of that same year, Rowena’s neighbor called her at the office. “She said she saw a baby left outside our house for quite some time, and she was concerned that Olly might have been taken,” Olly’s mother recalled.
Rowena was understandably worried, but she also believed it was important to give Agatha an opportunity to tell her side of the tale.
“When I spoke with her, she said that the allegations were exaggerated and that she had been gone from Oliver for no more than a minute. She had a powerful argument. I told her we were done, but she can’t leave Olly outside alone ever again.
Three months passed without incident, and in June of 2012, Rowena’s mother arrived from Colombia to spend some time with her. I remember my mom being nervous about the babysitter,” Rowena recounts.