Nanny allegedly sexually abused baby in her care and sent photos to an unknown person online, California police say

California police say that a nanny sexually abused a baby in her care and sent photographs of the abuse to an unknown person online.

28-year-old Michelle Nicole Hidalgo was arrested for allegedly distributing child pornography after a social media company tipped off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the illegal content being shared on its platform.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office said that Hidalgo was arrested on Sept. 23 after they connected her IP address to the social media account.

Hidalgo, who is a resident of Antioch, told investigators that she had been hired as a part-time nanny for the 8-month-old baby by a family in Martinez, a city in the San Francisco Bay.

Investigators said she had sent the pornographic material to an unidentified social media user. She then allegedly offered to take more sexually explicit photos of the baby and also admitted to sexually assaulting the child.

Initially, she denied the charges, but when investigators accessed her iCloud account, they said they found further evidence of the sexual abuse.

She was charged with one count of a lewd act on a child, another count of using a minor for sex acts, and one count of distribution of child pornography.

Hidalgo's bail was raised from $700,000 to $2.7 million after the new charges were filed against her. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"I believe there could be more victims based on what I've observed so far," said Deputy District Attorney Paul Graves. "So we would encourage anybody to reach out and contact our internet crimes against children task force if they have any information or if they have any concerns."

Hidalgo could face a maximum of 14 years in prison if convicted, and she would have to register as a sex offender.

Martinez is a suburb of Oakland of about 37,000 people 35 miles away from San Francisco.

Here's a local news report about the accusations:

Antioch nanny accused of sexually abusing girl pleads not guiltywww.youtube.com

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