Care.com issues statement on babysitter accused of child sex crimes

Update: 

Care.com has responded to KIRO Newsradio and released a comment.

“We are deeply disturbed by this incident and our thoughts are with any impacted family.  We take the safety of our community very seriously and every caregiver who uses our platform is required to complete a background check in order to engage on our site. In this particular instance, this individual underwent both our CareCheck and a Criminal Records Check. We stand ready to assist with law enforcement and in the interim, this individual‘s profile has been removed from our platform and we have taken steps to prevent him from re-enrolling in the future.  As this is an open investigation, we will not be commenting further.”

A Seattle man faces felony charges for allegedly using online babysitting services to sexually abuse children.

Prosecutors said 23-year-old Antonio Brugnoli-Baskin listed himself as a professional babysitter on care.com and used his job to sexually exploit children, with prosecutors stating the offenses they are charging Baskin with go back to February 2021.

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Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecutor’s Office said Google tipped off investigators in February 2021 when a user uploaded 95 files containing child pornography.

Investigators stated they have probable cause to believe that Brugnoli-Baskin was abusing children for the purpose of creating media depicting sexually abused children for deviant sexual interests. The prosecutor’s office said he is a threat to the community, specifically children.

“That detail about how he was working as a professional babysitter to actual children is certainly concerning … because someone who has this kind of criminal behavior, and particularly somebody who is around children in a job role, is somebody who we think should clearly be held behind bars,” McNerthney said.

Care.com tells KIRO Newsradio all caregivers using the site are required to pass background checks, but a disclaimer on the site says the company takes no responsibility for the conduct of its users.

“There are two messages we want to convey to parents,” McNerthney said. “The first is that the more you can do to check on the backgrounds of the people who are looking after your children, the better off you’ll be. And also, we want them to be reassured that King County prosecutors are filing cases just like this one every week, and we have people who are working on these cases every day.”

Investigators say Brugnoli-Baskin was arrested outside a home in Magnolia — the residents told police he was their babysitter.

Brugnoli-Baskin is currently being held in King County Jail on three felony charges of sex crimes involving children. Prosecutors are asking for his bail to be set at $250,000.

He will appear in King County Court Oct. 20 for his arraignment.

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