Middletown woman caught on nanny cam facing child abuse charge

A Middletown woman is facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly abusing a 10-month-old baby in actions that were caught on video.

Alyson Tester, 21, was charged in January with child abuse through Butler County Juvenile Court, according to court administrator Rob Clevenger. On Jan. 30, a bench warrant was issued for Tester’s arrest when she was not present at a court hearing.

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Tester was booked into the Butler County Jail Friday on the bench warrant and is awaiting a court hearing.

Tester, described as a family friend, was babysitting Owen, the son of Corrie and Derrick Beckett, three or four days a week in October. But they became concerned after they said the child’s behavior changed.

“We just need to know nothing’s going on because he wasn’t acting right,” Corrie Beckett said.

The Becketts hid the camera above the fireplace so they could see what was happening after they left for work.

Corrie Beckett said she was shocked by what she saw later that morning on her cell phone.

“When I watched the video, she was screaming at him, telling him to shut up, sitting on top of him,” she said.

In one clip, viewers can hear her screaming at Owen while he’s crying.

“Shut up!”

Later, she leans over and continues to yell at him.

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“You gotta get over it!”

That’s when things get physical and she gets on top of the 10-month-old.

“Owen. Damn, man!”

Watching the video made Owen’s mother feel “instant anger and disgust and rage, honestly,” Beckett said.

She returned home that morning to confront the babysitter.

“She said, ‘Is something going on with him?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know, you tell me what’s going on here.’ She became defensive,” Beckett said.

The Becketts filed a police report, saying Owen had a cut on his upper lip and there was blood on the sleeves of his pajamas.

Prosecutors did not file charges at that time. However, Middletown police reopened the case and the misdemeanor charge was filed in January.

Tester’s attorney, Frank Schiavone IV, said the incident was also investigated by Children Services, and the finding was the “allegations were unsubstantiated.”

Schiavone IV also said Tester was not aware of the hearing on Jan. 30 because the notice was served at an old address.

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