Nanny sues police over interrogation

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ST. LOUIS, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A former nanny convicted of severely injuring a child is suing the St. Peters, Mo., police who interrogated her, court documents say.

Rebecca Lynn Harris, 26, said in her suit filed in federal court in St. Louis that St. Peters Police detective Jim Presson violated her rights while questioning her. She is seeking $550,000, or $1,000 for every day she spent in jail.

Harris was hired in 2007 by Aaron and Caprina Wakefield to look after their two children, and when 4 month-old Kaleb stopped breathing stopped breathing while Harris was watching him she called 911, court papers say.

The baby's skull had been fractured, doctors noting the injuries were a result of shaking and a blow to the baby's head. Prosecutors later said Kaleb was left with permanent injuries.

Harris was found guilty in a 2008 jury trial and sentenced to seven years in prison, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Later in 2008 the Wakefields won a $7.5 million civil judgment against Harris. It was voided in 2010 when an appellate court, saying Harris' request for the presence of her attorney during a police interview should have ended the interview, and the inadmissibility of the videotape of the interview in court, reversed her criminal conviction, the newspaper said.