MIDDLEBURY, Conn. — Police arrested a former investigator with the Department of Children and Families in connection with injuries suffered by a baby who was in her foster care in late 2020.
Police arrested Margaret Bottone, 52, of Middlebury and charged her with assault in the first degree, reckless endangerment, cruelty to persons, and risk of injury to a minor.
In a lengthy arrest warrant, officials said the baby was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital on December 5, 2020 and was treated for three skull fractures, a brain hemorrhage, seizures and unknown brain damage.
A specialized team at the hospital, trained to detect child abuse, was activated when the child was being treated. A doctor reported the injuries could be a result of shaken baby syndrome.
Bottone told healthcare workers that the child might have suffered injuries when she slammed on her brakes to avoid a deer in the road. A nurse reported that she heard Bottone use the phrase "blunt force trauma" on the phone to an unknown person, and saying something about the victim being dropped.
The baby's biological mother had requested that Bottone be a foster parent for the child, since Bottone had been a DCF therapeutic mentor to the mother. Bottone left DCF and took care of the baby at the beginning of November 2020.
