New Jersey judge orders woman jailed over ‘bizarre’ sex video of toddler

(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect) – An Ocean County woman accused of recording video of a 2-year-old child touching her genitals was ordered held in jail without bail on July 14 by a judge who called the allegations “bizarre” and “troubling.”

Victoria A. Cranmer, 25, started sobbing when Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer ordered that she remain at the Ocean County Jail while the case against her is pending.

The judge said he viewed the 14-second video before reaching his decision.

Lynn Juan, assistant Ocean County prosecutor, said the video, recorded May 6, depicts a 2-year-old girl touching Cranmer’s genitals in a bathroom while Cranmer recorded the interaction.

Cranmer, who was friends with the child’s mother and living in the family’s home, was babysitting the girl at the time, Juan said.

Defense attorney Marissa Koerner of the Public Defender’s Office tried to downplay the incident, saying it depicted an “innocent interaction” initiated by a child undeterred by the norms of personal boundaries.

“Anyone who has spent time caring for young children understands that children often have little appreciation for personal space or privacy,” Koerner argued. “Young children routinely follow parents or caregivers into bathrooms, touch things, ask questions, are curious and fail to recognize ordinary social boundaries.”

Koerner argued that recording video of a child is not a crime.

“Children often engage in funny, spontaneous or strange behavior that adults record because the moment is memorable or humorous,” the defense attorney said.

“The video has been blown out of proportion,” Koerner said.

“The word to describe it is bizarre,” Palmer said.

That the child followed Cranmer into the bathroom was not the strange part, the judge said. What was bizarre is that Cranmer did nothing to stop the toddler from touching her pubic area, and she laughed, giggled and recorded video of it while it was taking place, Palmer said.

“I find it to be troubling there wasn’t any attempt to stop the child from touching her in the pubic area,” the judge said.

The child’s mother had given Cranmer a cell phone, but asked for it back after Cranmer moved out of the house, according to Juan. When the phone was returned, the mother discovered the video in question saved to the phone and also saved to Cranmer’s SnapChat memories, Juan said.

Cranmer is charged with sexual assault on a child, endangering the welfare of a child and manufacturing and possessing child sexual abuse material.

If convicted of the offenses, Cranmer would not only be subject to a lengthy prison term, but would be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and would be under lifetime parole supervision, Juan said.