Catalina Baldwin (Credit: Montgomery County District Attorney's Office)
A Montgomery County Common Pleas judge increased the bail for an Upper Providence Township woman accused of violently assaulting two infants in her care as a daycare worker at Oaks Early Learning Center, including a 7-month-old girl who underwent emergency brain surgery.
During a bail review hearing in county court last week, Judge Steven T. O’Neill chose not to set bail at $500,000 straight cash and instead set bail for Catalina Baldwin, 37, at $99,000 cash, according to The Mercury.
Baldwin must also be put on electronic monitoring with an ankle bracelet if she should post the $99,000 cash bail, per the report.
Under her prior bail, which was 10% of $500,000 cash, Baldwin would have had to post $50,000 cash to be released ahead of her preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
“This is a very serious case of child abuse where, if proven, the defendant faces two mandatory minimum penalties of five years in custody,” argued Assistant District Attorney Lauren Marvel at the bail hearing, referring to the two felony aggravated assault charges lodged against Baldwin.
“Moreover, the Commonwealth asserts that this defendant committed a very serious violent act on a child while under the investigation of another violent offense against another young child in her care,” Marvel said, according to The Mercury. “The commonwealth submits that when someone physically assaults a child in their care, while being investigated for physically assaulting a child in their care the first time, they are someone that is a danger to the community and to children in particular.”
Baldwin has ties to Colombia and prosecutors said that she is a flight risk.Thus, Baldwin had to surrender her passport as a condition of bail.
Baldwin's attorney, Brian McMonagle, wanted his client to be on house arrest ahead of her preliminary hearing, saying she "has never been in trouble a day in her life."
Baldwin faces two felony counts each of aggravated assault, two counts of felony aggravated assault on a victim under six, two counts of felony endangering the welfare of children, and two misdemeanor counts each of assault and recklessly endangering another person, following an investigation by Upper Providence Township Police and Montgomery County Detectives.
Authorities said Baldwin was the sole caregiver in the infant room at Oaks Early Learning Center on Egypt Road on July 9, 2025 when she allegedly inflicted life-threatening injuries on a baby.
Emergency responders were already on site for a separate event when Baldwin alerted the daycare director at 10:12 a.m. on July 9 about the child’s condition. The director found the baby listless and unable to hold up their head, police alleged.
Firefighters provided immediate aid before EMS transported the infant to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, where doctors diagnosed a subdural hematoma, uncal herniation, retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes, and cervical spinal ligament injuries — all consistent with non-accidental trauma, police said.
The child was later flown to CHOP in Philadelphia and underwent emergency surgery, which required the removal of part of their skull to relieve pressure. The baby remains hospitalized, authorities said.
Investigators said it was the infant's third day at the daycare, and had been healthy and alert when dropped off by parents that morning. Baldwin had been the only caregiver assigned to the infant room, police said.
According to a criminal complaint, eight minutes before alerting the director, Baldwin texted another staff member: “(The infant) is a nightmare.”
A subsequent review of Baldwin’s phone revealed a July 11 internet search for “Shaken Syndrome," police alleged.
Authorities also linked Baldwin to a prior injury involving a 5-month-old, who suffered unexplained bleeding from the mouth while under Baldwin’s care in May, according to the complaint. Though Baldwin claimed the child had chewed on a broken wicker basket, doctors at CHOP determined the injuries were highly concerning for physical abuse.
The child required a feeding tube due to the trauma.
She is being held at Montgomery County Correctional Facility pending a bail hearing.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 12 before Magisterial District Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records and information provided by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
