UPPER PROVIDENCE TWP., Pa. (WPHL) -- Officials announced the arrest of a child care facility employee after police said she sent two infants to the hospital.
Catalina Baldwin, 37, was arrested Thursday for aggravated assault and related charges.
According to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, the investigation began on July 9, 2025. At 10:20 a.m., Upper Providence Police and EMS responded to a report of an unresponsive 7-month-old girl at Oaks Early Learning Center. When police arrived, two Upper Providence Township Firefighters, already on-site for an event, provided emergency aid to the infant.
The baby, identified by the DA's office as "S.F.," was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, since she appeared to be having seizures. S.F. was diagnosed with various brain, eye, and spinal injuries, which investigators say are consistent with non-accidental trauma. S.F. was flown by helicopter to CHOP in Philadelphia for emergency surgery. According to the DA's office, part of S.F.'s skull had to be removed to assist with treatment. The baby remains hospitalized.
Detectives learned that it was S.F.’s third day at the child care facility. On the day of the alleged assault, S.F.'s parents dropped her off at 7:30 a.m. and reported that their baby had been healthy, alert, and interactive.
Less than three hours later, at 10:12 a.m., Baldwin texted school Director Christina Dolga, asking her to respond to the infant room. Dolga arrived to find S.F. listless and unable to hold up her head. Dolga ran outside to get help from the firefighters and called 911.
After downloading the contents of Baldwin's cell phone, detectives say they discovered she texted another teacher just minutes earlier at 10:04 a.m., saying "(S.F.) is a nightmare." Investigators also found Baldwin searched "Shaken Syndrome" on Google, two days later, on July 11.
At the same time, Upper Providence Police were investigating a report of another baby girl, a 5-month-old identified as “ECW,” who was injured while in the infant room at Oaks Early Learning Center.
According to the Montgomery County District Attorney, ECW's mother received a message from Baldwin on May 29, 2025, that ECW had experienced "unexplained bleeding" in her mouth. Balwin said the child had caused the injury herself by putting a broken wicker basket in her mouth. ECW was in the sole care of Baldwin at the time of the injury.
The mother immediately took ECW to CHOP to have her evaluated. Officials said the baby had to be placed on a feeding tube due to the laceration in her mouth. The CHOP Child Protection Team stated that ECW’s injury was “highly concerning for non-accidental trauma/child physical abuse.”
Baldwin was arrested on July 31, 2025, on two counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and recklessly endangering another person. Magisterial District Judge Marc Alfarano set bail at $500,000, 10 percent, with additional conditions of no unsupervised contact with minors and no contact with victims and their families.
Baldwin was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A bail hearing will be held Friday in the Court of Common Pleas. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 12.
