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Parents Catch Abusive Babysitter, Thanks to Dog

Killian's behavior alerted them that something wasn't right
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2013 12:37 PM CDT
Updated Sep 15, 2013 6:46 AM CDT

A babysitter in South Carolina has confessed to physically abusing a 7-month-old boy in her care—and the child's parents give credit to the loyal family dog. As WCSC explains, they grew suspicious when their otherwise mellow dog, Killian, started routinely growling at the family's 21-year-old babysitter and standing between her and the child. The parents placed an iPhone under the couch one day to record audio: "It started with cussing," says dad Benjamin Jordan. "Then you hear slap noises and his crying changes from a distress cry to a pain cry."

They got young Finn checked out at the hospital (he's fine), then turned the recording over to Charleston police, who secured a confession from Alexis Khan, reports ABC News. She pleaded guilty last Monday to assault and battery, will serve 1 to 3 years in jail, and will be placed on a registry to keep her from working with kids ever again. She had worked as Finn's babysitter for five months. “Who knows how many children she has abused or how many more she would have had it not been for our dog,” says Jordan. (More hero stories.)

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