Fact-Check: Wittman’s NICU Attack Ad on Shannon Taylor Rated FALSE As Victim’s Parent Calls for Ad to be Taken Down

12 On Your Side Fact-Check Confirms: Hospital – Not Shannon Taylor – Allowed Abusive NICU Nurse Back to Work

HENRICO, Va. — A new fact-check from 12 On Your Side (WWBT, Richmond) has rated Rep. Rob Wittman’s attack ad on Shannon Taylor’s handling of the Henrico NICU child abuse case as FALSE.

Wittman’s ad claims that Taylor’s handling of the case put more babies at risk by allowing the abusing nurse, Erin Strotman, to return to work. According to the fact-check, that claim is simply not true: it was Henrico Doctors’ Hospital — not Shannon Taylor — that made the decision to let Strotman return to work in late 2024, months after she had first been placed on leave following unexplained fractures found on four premature babies in the summer of 2023. The criminal case against Strotman did not begin until her arrest in January 2025. The fact-check’s conclusion was direct: “we will rate this ad as false.”

The same fact-check examined a Taylor campaign ad featuring the father of one of the abused babies, which states that Taylor secured a sentence six times harsher than state sentencing guidelines and helped pass a law closing a reporting loophole for hospitals. The fact-check confirmed both claims as true.

This fact check from 12 On Your Side comes after Dom, the father featured in Taylor’s ad whose child was one of the babies harmed in the NICU, called on Wittman to take down his ad: “Our family’s trauma is not a game or a tool to be used by a politician. I demand that Representative Wittman take these ads down immediately.” 

Facts of the case: 

The abuse: Former Henrico Doctors’ Hospital NICU nurse Erin Strotman abused nine newborns and caused broken bones and other trauma over the course of three years. [ABC News4, 6/6/26]

The hospital delayed reporting: Hospital administrators waited 10 days to report suspected abuse to Child Protective Services, even after a radiologist told the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer he believed it was abuse. A special grand jury investigation found the hospital’s seven week delay in reporting initial cases of suspected abuse led to more patient harm. [WTVR, 8/7/26]] WTVR, 6/16/26] [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 3/13/26]

The hospital blocked a thorough investigation: A special grand jury’s 74 page report found that the hospital and its CEO had prioritized itself rather than conducting a thorough investigation, calling the hospital’s “loyalty” to Strotman a great “miscalculation.” [WRIC, 6/15/26]

“Cloak of secrecy”: The special grand jury report also found that there was a “cloak of secrecy” around the hospital’s internal investigation in an effort to shield it from liability. [WRIC, 6/6/25]

HDH conducted an internal investigation instead of alerting CPS right away: “HDH chose to conduct their own 2023 investigation of Strotman when they suspected she was first abusing NICU babies, instead of immediately alerting CPS.” [WRIC, 6/6/25]

Shannon got the conviction: Strotman was convicted of nine felony child abuse charges. [ABC News4, 6/6/26]

Shannon secured a sentence that was six times tougher: Sentencing guidelines called for one day to six months. Shannon secured three years, six times the top of the guidelines. [WTVR, 1/16/26]; [WRIC, 1/19/26]

Shannon changed the law: Shannon worked with  Del. Delores McQuinn to strengthen Virginia law with  HB 1414. It passed 92-6 in the House and unanimously in the Senate, and it made  failing to report suspected abuse within 24 hours go from a minor fine to a misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail. [WRIC, 5/15/26]; [Richmond Times-Dispatch,  3/13/26]

ABOUT SHANNON:

Shannon Taylor is a battle-tested prosecutor with 25 years of experience and a 90% conviction rate in homicide cases, taking on the toughest threats to Virginia families and delivering justice. A native of Charlottesville and graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond Law School, she began her career as a prosecutor in Richmond before serving as a Special Assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s office. In 2011, she flipped the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office from Republican to Democrat, becoming the first woman elected to the role. She has since been re-elected three times, proving she knows how to win tough races.

As Commonwealth’s Attorney, Taylor has pioneered programs to support victims of human trafficking, created a task force to tackle the opioid epidemic, and led prosecutors statewide in pledging not to criminalize women or doctors for abortion care. She has worked alongside law enforcement to keep families safe, fought fraud that harms working people, and partnered with gun safety advocates to take illegal guns off the streets.

Shannon Taylor has built her career on protecting Virginians and delivering justice for families regardless of their politics. 

For more on Shannon Taylor’s campaign, visit ShannonTaylorVA.com.

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