02/22/02
By John Petrick
Journal staff writer
The Jersey Journal 02/22/02
A live-in nanny for a Jersey City Society Hill couple has been charged with assault and child endangerment after hidden cameras installed by the parents captured her holding their 2-year-old twins nearly upside-down in their highchairs, authorities said.
Alicia Gay Williams, 25, was arrested at her parents' house in Brooklyn Wednesday and charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Officials said at a news conference yesterday the cameras installed by the father, Richard Acciavatti, recorded "a horror scene." Officials could not confirm the name of the children's mother yesterday, and her name was not listed on the police complaint.
Authorities said the children sustained no physical injuries as a result of Williams' alleged actions, which included shaking them, swinging them, force-feeding them, slapping them and turning them upside-down violently.
A copy of the tape - played for reporters yesterday - depicts one scene in which Williams is feeding the little boy and girl, seated in separate highchairs. She interrupts the feeding by turning the highchairs almost upside-down and holding the children in that position before returning them upright.
Other alleged incidents were not as clearly decipherable on a first viewing due to tape quality, distance, lack of sound and sped-up playback.
According to Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham, the family noticed "strange actions" in the children that prompted them to become suspicious of the nanny. Though officials were not much more specific about what that behavior was, Cunningham said the children appeared to be acting more fearful.
On Oct. 29, the family had cameras professionally installed in their home. On Nov. 9, they notified Jersey City police after gathering evidence on tape stemming from three separate incidents. According to police, Williams fled Jersey City on Nov. 9 upon learning of the hidden cameras.
While a warrant was issued for her arrest at the time, police only found Williams at her parents' home Wednesday.
She is currently being held in New York, according to police, after being arrested by both Jersey City Police Warrant Squad officers and New York City police.
"When I saw the tapes, the first thing I said to myself is . . . What were these children thinking?" Cunningham said. "I can only imagine that they were in some kind of horror land. . . . As a grownup, I could see the invasion of their dignity, of their security. . . . This is a serious crime."
Cunningham said the tapes show that Williams was "purposely trying to communicate to the kids through fear tactics."
Police said they were not sure exactly how the family came to hire the nanny, but they believe they heard about her "through word of mouth."
If convicted of all charges, Williams could receive a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
The children's parents did not attend yesterday's news conference and were not reachable by phone yesterday, as their number is unpublished.