Baby Killed on Staten Island Was Beaten Repeatedly, Slammed to Ground: Prosecutors

Gloria Fields pleaded not guilty to murder, assault and sex abuse charges

The sitter accused of killing a Staten Island baby over the weekend allegedly beat the child repeatedly, broke his collarbone, sodomized the child with a crayon and was caught on camera slamming his lifeless body to the ground while she smoked a cigarette, prosecutors say.

At an arraignment hearing for Gloria Fields, prosecutors outlined the horror that 16-month-old Anthony Delgado faced before he died as the child's family, who hadn't heard of the circumstances around the child's death before the hearing, cried and shrieked uncontrollably.

"No creature on this earth, let alone an innocent child, deserves to undergo such horrific torment," said Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon. "I want to thank the NYPD for their efforts in investigating this case and I want to ensure the public that my office intends to aggressively prosecute this atrocious crime.”

Fields, the downstairs neighbor tasked with caring for the child for two days, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on charges including murder, assault and sex abuse. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors said that Fields, 31, repeatedly beat the boy, breaking his collar bone on one occasion. She also sodomized Delgado with a 6-inch crayon and possibly a pencil. They alleged that she left the writing utensils inside the boy as she took him around the city on buses and the ferries.

They also said that at one point, Fields was seen on video carrying the child's limp body while smoking a cigarette. She then could be seen slamming the child to the ground.

The child, already near death, was returned to his family on Sunday night, prosecutors say. He died Monday after authorities were called to his apartment building on Steuben Street in the Park Hill neighborhood.

The child was in cardiac arrest when authorities arrived, and he was pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital North, police said.

"I cannot believe that one person would take the value of a child and do the things that she's done to that baby, an innocent baby," the child's aunt sobbed after the hearing. 

Sources told NBC 4 New York he had bruising to his head and torso, and the medical examiner confirmed Tuesday the child died of blunt force injuries to the areas.  

Neighbors set up a small vigil for the baby outside his home Monday night, as police were seen inside the boy's apartment and the apartment of his baby sitter. 

"It's devastating, it really is," said neighbor Kari Padilla. "I have children of my own, I have grandchildren, and to hear about a little baby being found like that is terrible." 

Some members of the baby's family were so angry and upset about the alleged abuses that they lashed out, knocking at least one journalist covering the hearing to the ground and pouring water on his face. Court bailiffs had to stop them from attacking the journalist further.

Attorney information for Fields wasn't immediately available. 

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