A California nanny was arrested on child abuse charges after a landscaper saw the abuse and recorded it, and other witnesses followed her to a nearby home.
The Lincoln Police Department said it was called to Markham Ravine Park, where the witness provided the video to officers. Police found Suzanne Buhler, 41, at the home where the other witnesses had tracked her.
They found the child with visible injuries consistent with the reported assault. The child was given medical treatment and is safe with family.
Curtis and Angie Tuttle told KCRA they hired Buhler through Care.com to help with their 22-month-old daughter, Paisley. They said they had been pleased with hr.
“She was really developing our child in a very positive manner,” said Curtis Tuttle.
But on March 16, the couple was surprised to find three police officers at their door.
The two police officers asked her [Buhler] to step outside of the house,” Curtis Tuttle said. “One officer asked if they could come into my home. I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ She shut the door. The two were out with Suzanne [Buhler]. The one was with me, and he proceeded to tell me what had happened.”
The officer said a landscaper at the park had heard a commotion and a child crying near a play area. The landscaper said he saw the child being physically abused repeatedly and took out his camera to record what he saw. When Buhler left the park with the toddler, two other people followed her back to the Tuttles’, where the girl’s parents worked from home.
“It was a complete shock,” the father said. “If I didn’t see this video myself, I would not have thought this had happened.”
Buhler was booked into the Placer County jail on a child abuse charge and has since bailed out.
Care.com told KCRA that it was “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“All caregivers on Care.com are required to complete a background check on an annual basis before they are ever allowed contact with families,” the company said in a statement. “This individual completed all required screenings and had no prior reported incidents on our platform. The individual’s account is now closed, and we’ve taken steps to prevent her from re-enrolling. As this is an open investigation, we cannot comment further and stand ready to assist law enforcement.”
Curtis Tuttle told KCRA that the landscaper who reported and recorded the incident is “our hero.”
Police noted asked anyone with further information to contact them at 916-645-4047.
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[Featured image: Suzanne Buhler/Placer County jail]
