Catalina Baldwin (Credit: Montgomery County District Attorney's Office)
A Phoenixville woman, now free on bail with an ankle monitor and without a passport, accused of violently assaulting two infants in her care as a daycare worker in Upper Providence Township, heads to Montgomery County Court on all charges following a Wednesday preliminary hearing.
Catalina Baldwin, 37, of an apartment on the 600 block of Nutt Road, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two felony counts each of aggravated assault on a victim under six, and endangering the welfare of children, and two misdemeanor counts each of assault and recklessly endangering another person in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between May and July 2025 at Oaks Early Learning Center.
Baldwin, a five-year employee at the daycare center, posted $99,000 cash bail through a bonding company Wednesday and is free pending an Oct. 22 formal arraignment, according to court documents.
In addition to the electronic monitoring bail order, Baldwin, who has ties to Columbia, had to surrender her passport and cannot have contact with minors, the victims, or their families.
Upper Providence Township Police and Montgomery County Detectives said Baldwin was the sole caregiver in the infant room at the Egypt Road daycare 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's condition is currently unknown, but remained hospitalized in July, 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.”
Police said a subsequent review of Baldwin’s phone revealed a July 11 internet search for "Shaken Syndrome."
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.
“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 a bail hearing earlier this summer, 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.”
Due to her ties to Columbia, prosecutors said that she is a flight risk.
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."
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
