Kieran Ansley, 43, a former neonatal nurse at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, faces two felony counts of second-degree child abuse and two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree child abuse in Kent County, according to WOODTV.com. The charges concern injuries to a premature infant. They are allegations, not findings of guilt.
Medical findings and room-access records
The girl was born in November 2025 at 23 weeks’ gestation, weighing 1 pound, 1 ounce. After five months in intensive care, she was expected to go home in April, according to FOX 7 Austin. A skeletal survey found multiple fractures, including in her legs, as well as bruising on her hands, arms, thigh, buttocks, abdomen and tongue, WOOD reported from court records.
The article’s account places the mother’s arrival at about 6:30 a.m. on April 3. It says Ansley approached her before she entered the room and told her the baby had slept through the night. He also reportedly said he had seen the baby’s blue-and-black tongue before and did not consider it a serious concern. The mother then noticed new bruising, according to court-record details reported by Law & Crime.
A room-access log for the overnight shift recorded 32 entries, 27 attributed to Ansley, Law & Crime reported, citing court documents. The records detail who entered the room; the charges remain allegations.
Charges and case status
Michigan law defines serious physical harm to include a bone fracture. For a first offense, second-degree child abuse carries a maximum sentence of 10 years; fourth-degree child abuse, classified as a misdemeanor for a first offense, carries up to one year in jail, under section 750.136b of the Michigan Penal Code.
Defense attorney Damian Nunzio said Ansley has worked for many years in intensive-care settings and maintains his innocence, according to WHMI. Ansley is free on bond with an electronic monitoring tether and is scheduled to return to court November 10. Corewell Health, which operates the hospital, terminated his employment after the investigation began.
