Young infant suffers seizures after being shaken by nanny

An Allegheny County jury on Thursday convicted a former nanny from Dravosburg of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment for violently shaking a 10-week-old boy because he would not stop crying.

Sara Miller, 23, was acquitted of a more serious charge of aggravated assault, but still faces up to seven years in prison when she is sentenced in May. Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen revoked her bond and put her in jail pending her sentencing hearing.

Miller left court in tears, as did several jurors.

"There's no winners in this situation. It's a sad case," defense attorney Charles Schwartz said. He had argued that his client never meant to harm little Braden Ahmed Wahan, who suffered severe neurological damage and broken bones.

The boy's parents, Sharmila Ahmed and Serv Wahan, who are both doctors at Allegheny General Hospital, North Side, said they were shocked by the verdict.

"Essentially, we feel she got away with this," Wahan said, adding that he hopes Miller gets the maximum sentence. "I don't understand how you can have all the facts and not find her guilty of assault."

"This was such a brutal crime against an innocent child," said Ahmed, who called her son "an amazing baby. He's lucky to be alive, and we're lucky he's with us."

Ahmed testified that she and her husband hired Miller in February 2004 through Plum-based Sterling Domestic Placements for a live-in position in their North Side home to care for their newborn twins.

One day in early March 2004, Ahmed came home to find Braden crying loudly. She took him to their doctor's office, where the child's foot began twitching.

A week later, Braden became very listless and appeared to be seizing. She rushed the child to the hospital, where he went into full seizures. Tests showed he was bleeding in his brain and eyes and had suffered broken ribs.

Under questioning by police a few days later, Miller admitted she had shaken the child in a fit of emotion several days before he went into seizures.

"Most people would not treat an animal the way she did, and if they did, they would know it was wrong," Assistant District Attorney Jennifer DiGiovanni said during closing arguments yesterday. "Any reasonable person should know it was inappropriate."

After seven surgeries, Braden still can't see or talk, and he can barely walk, while his twin brother, Cailen, is developing normally, Wahan testified.

"His prognosis is still so unclear, because he does not respond," Ahmed said. "We're trying to do everything we can for him."