3-month-old remains in fair condition; nanny faces abuse charges

Monday, Jan. 3, 2005 | 11:13 a.m.

The nanny who is charged with abusing a 3-month-old Henderson infant told police that she twice shaken and struck the child because the baby had frustrated her with his crying, according to the police report.

The child, Ryan Kuckler suffered acute bleeding in his brain as a result of the abuse, the police report notes. The baby had been upgraded to good condition as of this morning, a University Medical Center spokeswoman said.

According to the police report about her arrest, Bethany Joyce Ford, 24, told a Henderson Police detective Thursday that "Ryan is a colicky baby and that she sometimes has a hard time quieting him down. Today he had been crying for approximately one hour and Ford advised that she became frustrated. She demonstrated to me how she was bouncing him around and then held him out in front of her, under the arms and around his rib cage area and shook him, stating, 'Ryan, you have to be quiet.' "

"I observed that Ford was shaking her arms back and forth in a violent manner as she demonstrated this to me. Ford stated that Ryan did not stop crying and that she went into the family room and threw him down onto the sofa and slapped him in the face. .... Ford advised that she struck (the boy) first with her open hand in a forehand manner on his left side and then in a backhand manner on his right side."

Ford was booked into Henderson Detention Center Thursday on two felony counts of child abuse, then was freed on $6,000 bail, Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul said.

The infant's mother, Paula Yakubik, said she hired Ford almost a year ago as a live-in nanny.

Yakubik, who operates a public relations office, said she was in Phoenix on a one-day trip Thursday when Ford called and said Ryan was not breathing properly.

"I told her to hang up and dial 911," Yakubik said.

The infant may have had a seizure and he was airlifted to the trauma center about 1 p.m. Thursday, Yakubik said.

The extent of Ryan's injuries are not known. The baby may have impaired vision or brain damage, though "the doctors hope not," Yakubik said.

Yakubik said she never suspected that she would have any trouble with Ford, who had just returned from a Mormon mission and prayed every day.

"She was gentle, she was kind and she was devout," Yakubik said.

Ford ate dinner with the family each evening. "We hung a stocking for her at Christmas," Yakubik said.

But medical tests indicated that Thursday's injuries were not the first time Ryan Kuckler had been shaken, Yakubik and the police report said.

Ford told police that she had shaken Ryan once before, though not as hard as she had on Thursday, according to the arrest report.

Yakubik said her other child, an 18-month-old daughter, slept during the six hours each week day when Ford typically was alone with her two children.

"I'm having her checked," Yakubik said of her daughter.

Yakubik said she hired Ford in February through Nannies and Housekeepers USA, a placement agency. Ford passed a screening and background check done by the agency and an independent investigation done by Yakubik.

The Las Vegas-based placement agency has operated for five years, according to its Web site.

"All of our applicants are carefully screened and must undergo a thorough background investigation," the Web site notes. "We require that all applicants have at least one year's experience in a private residence."

Lexy Capp, the owner of Nannies and Housekeepers USA, emphasized that Ford was not directly employed by her company, but confirmed that the company had referred Ford to the family.

Capp said it was worth noting that Yakubik and her husband performed their own background check before they hired Ford in addition to that performed by the company. Both checks turned up "excellent references" from both the child care centers and private homes where Ford had worked and no previous criminal charges, Capp said.

Capp estimated roughly half of those who approach the company for referrals do not make the cut.

"We go the distance with all parts of our screening process," she said. "Our prayers are with baby Ryan. We're just as shocked as the family."