A Northampton County judge said a former babysitter groomed her year-old victim before having sex with the boy in his Upper Nazareth Township home last year, a decision that she said defied logic. The judge also ordered the year-old to perform hours of community service and ordered she have no access to a computer, social media, pornography or unsupervised contact with minors.
Defense attorney Michael Donohue asked the judge to consider immediate work release for his client. McFadden, who also ordered a mental health evaluation, made Collins eligible for work release but doubted the prison would allow it based on the charges.
In July , the victim's mother discovered racy text messages between Collins, who was 18 at the time, and her son, in which they discussed having sex. Collins had been hired to watch the victim and his 5-year-old brother. Collins pleaded guilty in June to a single misdemeanor count of indecent assault.
Prosecutors agreed to withdraw all other charges, including a felony count of child endangerment. Collins will not be designated as a sexually violent predator, but she will be subject to a Megan's Law registration for 15 years. Before the judge imposed sentence, Donohue told the court that Collins was remorseful, regretful and accepted responsibility for what happened. He described her as a "church-going young lady from a good family" who was "deeply sorry" for the impact her actions have had on the victim and his family.
Collins has suffered public embarrassment and has been harassed on social media since her arrest, Donohue said. The victim's mother told the judge that she hired Collins to care for her two children on the recommendation of a friend. She said her son hasn't truly grasped the gravity of what happened and isn't sure how it will affect him later in life. She told the judge that she felt angry, sad and "tremendously betrayed. Earlier in the proceeding, Donohue told the court that Collins didn't give a probation officer an honest version of the events during a pre-sentencing investigation.
