By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First

An earlier version of this news story appeared in the Times-Argus.

A longtime Waterbury woman, who was honored by the state of Vermont for her child seat safety work, is facing five counts of aggravated child abuse in Utah, court records indicate.

The criminal charges against Lindsay E. Johnson, 32, stem from an alleged “Shaken Baby Syndrome” with a 6-week-old boy while she was serving as his night nanny for a couple, the Summit County Sheriff’s Department in Utah said.

Johnson, who pleaded not guilty to the charges this week, had relocated to Utah during the first week of November, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Department.

If convicted, each count carries up to 15 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

The injuries included a brain bleed, two broken legs and a broken rib — all consistent with shaken baby syndrome, Utah officials said.

Judge Richard Mrazik in Summit County District Court ordered Johnson held without bail on Monday after the prosecution said it feared she might flee back to Vermont. The judge also ruled Johnson could be a risk to others, court records show.

Johnson told Utah sheriff’s deputies she holds child certifications that allow her to work anywhere in the country, records show.

Vermont State Police in Berlin confirmed Wednesday to Vermont News First that Johnson had recently been the focus of a possible child abuse complaint in Waterbury. The Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office determined there was no basis for any charges after reviewing the investigation, Detective Sgt. Matt Nadeau said.

While living in Vermont, Johnson had offered child car seat safety programs in recent years through the Waterbury Ambulance Service and the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department. She was designated a civilian deputy for safety programs this fall for a couple of months, but had no law enforcement powers, Chittenden County Sheriff Dan Gamelin said.

She had volunteered for both public safety agencies in recent years, including 1,100 hours in 2023. The Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department hired her in August on a limited part-time basis to do safety seatwork work, primarily at the Champlain Valley Fair and one event in Bennington, Gamelin said. Her pay came from a federal grant, he said.

The Vermont Highway Safety Office selected Johnson in October to receive the Ruby Rainault Occupant Protection Award at the State House in Montpelier. The award is named for an Essex County Deputy Sheriff killed in the line of duty when a box truck struck her cruiser on U.S. 2 in Lunenburg in November 2003. Rainault, who was assigned to conducting Occupant Protection Safety checks, was the first female police officer killed in Vermont in the line of duty.

The Agency of Transportation began taking down from its website this week any mention of Johnson winning the statewide award and any photographs with her from the Statehouse ceremony.

The script of the ceremony also had been posted, but by mid-morning Thursday the portion about Johnson and any mention of the award also had been scrubbed from the state website.

AOT Secretary Joe Flynn confirmed for Vermont News First that the Vermont Highway Safety Office had asked about taking down any mention of the award after her arrest. He said he concurred.

One group photograph of all the 2024 award winners had Johnson on the extreme right, but that has now been cropped to remove her. More than two dozen photos of the individual award winners still remain available on the AOT website, but there are none of Johnson.

Utah court records indicate that both parents reported their baby was normal and healthy when they handed the child over to the night nanny at 10 p.m. Nov. 26.

The following day at 7 a.m. the baby was returned to the parents and they noticed he was not responding normally and appeared to be having possible seizures, officials said.

The child was taken to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City for brain injuries that doctors said were caused by non-accidental trauma, the sheriff’s department reported. The toddler was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Johnson was the only known person to have contact with the child while the parents were away, the charging documents claim.

While living in Vermont, Johnson was involved as a Child Passenger Safety technician for 6½ years and became an instructor in 2021. She worked with a Vermont Health Department program known as Be Seat Safe.

While never employed by Waterbury Ambulance Service, Johnson did establish a car seat fitting station at its Guptil Road garage to help caregivers and children in the area with inspections to ensure car seats were properly installed for proper safety.