Fall River Babysitter Gets 25 Years for Child Exploitation

FALL RIVER — A Fall River woman will spend 25 years in prison for sexually exploiting two kids she regularly babysat, one just two years old.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said 27-year-old Nichole Cyr was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in September to two counts of child sexual exploitation.

Cyr was arrested in July 2020 after recording herself sexually abusing the toddler and a seven-year-old child, both of whom she babysat multiple times.

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U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins called Cyr's crimes "every parent's nightmare."

Investigators found child sexual abuse materials — including photos and videos — on Cyr's cell phones involving the two victims, and found that Cyr had produced it herself.

Cyr had recorded herself abusing the youngest, a child of two, multiple times.

She also sent the child abuse material to a 51-year-old Malden man, Paul Weddington.

Weddington was sentenced to 12 years in prison last June.

U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin sentenced Cyr to 25 years in prison and five years of probation following her release.

"The crimes committed by Ms. Cyr are unconscionable and every parent’s nightmare," Rollins commented.

"While a trusted babysitter, she sexually exploited two defenseless children...Specifically, she sexually abused the toddler on multiple occasions, documented it, and distributed that documentation."

"Today’s sentence ensures that this dangerous predator is exactly where she belongs — removed from our community and behind bars," Rollins added.

Head of Homeland Security Investigations in New England Michael Krol commented, "Nicole Cyr was trusted to care for a child and betrayed that trust in the most egregious manner. The sexual abuse and exploitation of a child has long-term and far-reaching impacts on the life of the child and their family."

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Cyr's sentence Wednesday alongside Homeland Security Investigations and Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, Fall River Police Chief Paul Gauvin, and New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira.