Received Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Hi -
A *WARNING* about my ex-nanny, Courtney M in the East Bay, CA. We had the suspicion that she was going through our things in the last few weeks she was with us but gave her the benefit of the doubt because we trusted her. On her next to last day here, she admitted on her own accord to going through our personal items. She said she found mine and my husband's journals and was reading it all. In that location, there was also all of our financial information and identity information. Later that evening, I discovered that she took my journal to our neighbors home across the hall and sat down and they read it together! Not sure where was my son was when all this transpired but obviously he was not getting the care and attention I paid her for. Both, my neighbor and nanny are guilty of invasion of private property, slander and defamation. I filed a police report for petty theft since she committed a crime when she left our home with my property. In addition, we suspect she had been reading our journals for a few months and possibly sharing this extremely private information with my neighbor beforehand, possibly collecting financial information and taking inventory as well. I would like to share this with other parents so they do not have to experience this breech of trust or put their children in this compromising situation. Thanks.
I work in the east bay as a nanny!
ReplyDeleteAre you looking for a new one now?
only slightly joking here...slightly!
This is truly an awful breach of trust and it's a good thing that she's gone. I'm sure the police advised you to change passwords she may have gotten hold of and perhaps even close your accounts and open new ones. I've had my journals invaded before and I know how devastating it can be - it's actually caused me to stop keeping them, which makes me really sad. I hope you're able to get past this quickly and with no lasting repercussions.
ReplyDeleteOne thing though: Defamation is the issuance of slanderous (spoken, as opposed to written, which would be libelous) statements which cause you harm. The key thing, however, is that the statements must be untrue. So, if the nanny and neighbor merely gossipped about what they read in your journals (which, presumably contained your truth), then it's neither defamation nor slanderous. Unless there's more than you've written, it sounds like this is more like invasion of privacy.
It's nannies like this that make all of us nannies look bad.
ReplyDeleteOP, I hope you find a nice nanny soon. We all are out here...really we do exist. :()
OP,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that happened to you. But I would advise you to write to Jane and MPP and have your post removed. If this has become a police matter, you should NOT be posting this info on the internet. I realize your desire to warn others and I understand your anger and feelings of betrayal. What this woman did was horrible. But please ask the administrators to remove the post for your own sake. If you have a court case against this woman or your neighbor, this post could seriously hurt your case.
Good luck.
buy a safe, I know you want to trust your nanny but you just never know!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry this happened to you. I can't imagine what a horrible, resentful person your former nanny would have to be to share your journal with someone who lives across the hall from you.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with monkeyshines...after this experience, you will probably find it next to impossible to fully trust the next nanny, so I would just take that step to safeguard your valuables so you are not worrying about it.
She was probably curious. I agree that you should have fired her... I think filing the police report was a little ridiculous since there is nothing they can do anyway. (She took something out of your house as a nanny? Are you filing for the sippy cups and snacks she took out as well?)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have been hurt and that's fair of you to feel angry. But pretty much... at this point all you can do is move on. Good luck.
Jack's mom makes great sense....especially regarding your slander suit. Not recoverable if its true information.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely be sure to change bank accounts, credit card numbers, passwords, front door keys, and any other piece of information she may have come into contact with...PRONTO! You might even consider signing up with an identity protection service, and add the cost to your lawsuit against her. (Not sure you will recover it though, now that I think about it, because you probably have to be able to prove she actually saw and has continued access to that information...but throw it in and try anyway.)
Don't worry about what your neighbor thinks of you after reading your diary (as I imagine you are horrified by what she now knows about you)...just try to remember that she is a dirtbag piece of crap to have participated in that with your nanny, and so who cares what she thinks? After all, what's beneath a dirtbag piece of crap? Nothing she knows about you (hopefully) sinks you as low as you KNOW her to be!
MInute Muggle,
Just curious. What about her post do you think jeapordizes her case? I'm not saying you're wrong. I don't know, but am just curious.
Mom,
ReplyDeletefrom my experience (and I have had a great deal) when dealing with legal issues it is a VERY bad idea to post anything about it on the internet, especially names and identifying information. Not only could it hurt your case, but you don't know what sort of retribution it will bring. I personally think that personal accusations such as this are just a bad idea to post on the internet. You never know how people are going to react. If OP cannot prove these accusations, then she herself may have a lawsuit on her hands.
Minute muggle is right about this, that it weakens her claim or case against this nanny if she posts the story on here.
ReplyDeleteI am an attorney and I have read the information provided in the post. Posting on here for advice is not going to 'hurt' any court case or legal case for that manner. Do you think the judge is going to say something such as "The plaintiff posted information on the Internet so therefore we will drop this case because she sought advice from a website called I saw your nanny .com" Come on people! This is intro to law 101! Jeez... Posting on any website for that matter will just show how this woman/victim is seeking help and is in distress, only making her appear to be more distraught than without posting.
ReplyDeleteObviously Minute Muggle is not someone who is up to par with the legal system. That's okay but just be careful when you read this person's comments-it's not all there...
I'm not entirely sure of the legal terms here but I'll start off with this:
ReplyDeleteThis post seems way too funny and dramatic to be true. Encylopediadramatica anyone? Anyway, the legal argument from our resident Lawyer friend is funny, not only because not all of us have law degrees or are as well versed as an "Attorney" but it's common sense.
Also, on the financial and important document side of things: why the hell would anyone willingly admit they went through your things if they were going to commit a crime? A really stupid criminal, I guess but I have my doubts...obviously your nanny isn't stupid if she was cunning enough to fool you for so long.
It may not hurt your case but making something like this public when it's still being disputed is stupid and illogical. Though you said they're guilty, so clearly you've been to court already. I wonder what kind of Judge you had.
And for someone who filed a report for defamation of character, you sure aren't helping yourself.
"my ex-nanny, Courtney M in the East Bay, CA. "
Pot, meet kettle.
Oh and I forgot this little gem:
"Both, my neighbor and nanny are guilty of invasion of private property, slander and defamation."
I'm not sure about California law, but I'm pretty sure this is a general thing and, Lawyer Roberta, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but was your journal locked? Unless your neighbor took part in taking it out of the house, breaking open a lock or something of that nature, I don't see how they're guilty of invading your privacy, in a legal manner. If your nanny just took it over to them, pretty sure that's a moral, not legal choice to read it or not.
As for the slander and defamation, why would you write such terrible things about yourself?
A lot of things just don't add up here, but maybe I'm just too much of a skeptic.
As a nanny I can honestly say I don't look through my families things. I feel uncomfortable even going into their bedroom (which is where some of the baby downstairs day time clothes are kept.) but I don't have a desire to know every detail of their life and I don't think that most trustworthy people do either.
OH and as a nanny, I am a huge advocate of HAVING A CAMERA. Cameras are beneficial to ALL parties because you get a piece of mind as a parent and we do as well. So if something were to happen, I'm also safe. (ie. child falls and gets a bruise, money disappears)
Your husband has a journal?
ReplyDeleteWhat a faggot.