California nanny Michelle Hidalgo accused of molesting infant

A California nanny is facing charges for allegedly abusing an 8-month-old baby girl and sending disturbing images of the victim online — all at the direction of a man who received the photos over social media, according to authorities.

Michelle Hidalgo, 28, is accused of molesting the girl after the man requested she do “worse and worse” things to the infant and then document it, law enforcement said in court records obtained by the East Bay Times.

The Antioch resident was initially charged last month with seven counts for the alleged “production and distribution of child pornography,” the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said in a Sept. 26 press release.

Now, she’s facing another three charges of child molestation of a victim younger than 10 and a single charge of using a minor for sex acts, according to charging documents filed last week.

A search warrant served on Hidalgo’s home last month led authorities to seize equipment used in the disturbing case, prosecutors said.

Hidalgo, who was a part-time nanny for the victim’s family, allegedly admitted to sharing the images and told an investigator it was a “stupid” mistake that she only did once, according to records reviewed by the East Bay Times.

When looking through her online account, investigators discovered Hidalgo allegedly chatting with a man who requested more lewd photos of the infant, the local outlet reported, citing records.

The babysitter also allegedly said she would sexually abuse the child through oral sex, according to the affidavit also reported on by KTVU.

Hidalgo insisted she didn’t molest the infant when confronted by detectives before the latest charges were leveled, the station reported. But investigators found evidence that that was a lie when police went through her iCloud account, prosecutors reportedly alleged.

Officials were originally alerted of the alleged abuse by a social media company on Sept. 21 that sexually explicit materials depicting a small child were being shared on the platform, the district attorney’s office said.

The victim’s parents said they connected with Hidalgo over Care.com and they didn’t know her before hiring her, police said, according to East Bay Times.

She could be jailed for 60 years if convicted and remains behind bars on $2.7 million bail.