Island nurse accused of felony child neglect
A St. James City nurse has been arrested after she was accused of not properly feeding a child in her professional care.
Kelly Perrigo, 62, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with felony child neglect following an investigation conducted by Cape Coral Police.
According to CCPD officials, on Sept. 15 of 2024, officers were called to a home in the northwest Cape, where the reporting party stated Perrigo was not properly feeding their child, who has medical conditions that require round-the-clock care.
On the morning of Sept. 14, the reporting party said she talked with Perrigo, who was the night nurse for the child, and that Perrigo said the child had low blood sugar and drank all of their nighttime bottles, police officials stated.
Police said that after Perrigo, who is a Licensed Practical Nurse, left the home, the reporting party reviewed surveillance cameras in the child’s room.
“She saw that throughout the night, Perrigo would heat the child’s bottle and attempt to feed the child for about 2-5 minutes, then put the child in the crib and leave the room with the full bottle,” said CCPD officials in a release. “On the kitchen surveillance camera, Perrigo was seen placing an empty bottle in the sink. The reporting party believed Perrigo would empty the bottle in the bathroom sink before going into the kitchen. Looking through surveillance video, the reporting party noticed Perrigo wasn’t feeding the child any of their bottles since August 17.”
Police said the reporting party told them that since Perrigo started caring for the child in February of 2024, the child has had issues with “gaining weight, lack of energy, and has fallen into liver failure.”
The reporting party also told police that if the child does not drink the bottles, nurses are instructed to feed the child through a GI tube, which was never seen on surveillance.
CCPD officials said that officers reviewed the footage, which corroborated the reporting party’s claims.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was notified and took a report.
CCPD’s Special Victims Unit took over the investigation, and on Feb. 5, Perrigo arrived at the Cape Coral Police Department and was arrested.
As of Thursday at noon, Perrigo was still in custody at Lee County Jail. She is being held on a $50,000 bond.
She is scheduled to appear in court on March 10.