ELLYN DAPELLO - 5 Months - Rancho Cucamonga CA

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -
After hearing court testimony Thursday about a severely injured infant, a
judge ruled that the 5-month-old girl's babysitter must stand trial for child abuse.
Prosecutors accuse 30-year-old Kelly Jane Harris of Rancho
Cucamonga of shaking or jostling the crying child, who suffered seizures and was left blind.
A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy testified in West
Valley Superior Court that Harris said she believed she caused the
child's injuries while watching the girl in Rancho Cucamonga on July 13.
"She said she knew that something was wrong," Tyson Niles
testified. "She saw that Ellyn's eyes got really big, and that scared her."
The girl's mother, Maria Dapello of San Bernardino, said that
in June and July she worked in Arcadia, and she often left her children -
the infant, Ellyn, and a 7-year-old daughter - at other people's homes.
One of the babysitters was Harris, who Dapello said is her husband's nephew's wife.
Ellyn stayed with Harris about a half-dozen times without
showing signs of ill health. But after a visit to Harris' home on July 8
the girl vomited several times, Dapello said.
Harris next watched the girl on July 13. That evening she began
suffering seizures and was hospitalized, Dapello said.
According to court testimony, Ellyn is now blind, she does not
laugh or giggle, and she cannot sit up on her own or hold her head upright.
"It has to be supported at all times," Dapello testified.
Niles said the girl suffered brain injuries and severe
hemorrhaging in her eyes, injuries a doctor said were caused by severe head trauma.
A doctor said she was unsure whether the girl's injuries are permanent, Niles testified.
Niles said that during his department's interviews with
Harris, they gave the babysitter a lifelike infant-sized doll and asked
her to demonstrate how she handled the girl.
During the demonstration, Harris moved the doll back and forth
so quickly that its head fell back, Niles said.
Harris' attorney, Jay Tanenbaum, urged Judge Shahla Sabet to
rule against the prosecution. He said there's no evidence to show what
caused the child's injuries, and no evidence that demonstrates wrongdoing by Harris.
Sabet ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for Harris to stand trial.
Harris remained jailed Thursday in lieu of $100,000 bail at
Central Detention Center in San Bernardino. She's next due in court Sept. 14.

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