On May 24, 2024, the Honorable S. James Sarbanes, Administrative Judge of the Circuit Court for Wicomico County, sentenced Nicole Bochenek, 46 years of age, of Mardela Springs, Maryland, to Fifty-Five (55) years of incarceration. Bochenek previously pleaded guilty on March 21, 2024, to First Degree Child Abuse, First Degree Assault, and two counts of Second Degree Child Abuse. Sentencing had been deferred pending completion of a pre-sentence investigation.
Investigation into this case revealed that Bochenek physically abused three children in her care while operating an unlicensed daycare center out of her home. On June 7, 2023, emergency medical services (EMS) responded to Bochenek’s residence in response to a 911 call indicating that a 9-month-old child was unresponsive and not breathing. The severity of the child’s injuries required her to be transported to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., whereupon the infant was treated and diagnosed with injuries consistent with abusive blunt force trauma and non-accidental trauma, to include multiple skull fractures, brain bleeds, spinal fractures, and other bone fractures.
At the time, Bochenek was responsible for providing daycare services to this child and other children within her home. Detectives from the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center responded to Bochenek’s residence to investigate the incident, at which time they observed injuries to a separate child that Bochenek was employed to care for. Bochenek was interviewed by detectives, and admitted to having shaken the infant child in order to silence her cries and that this had been occurring over the course of a couple of weeks. Bochenek also admitted to striking the other child in her care. Pursuant to this investigation, another child was identified as having been physically abused by Bochenek while attending daycare services at Bochenek’s residence.
All three of the victims were under the age of 5 years. Wicomico County State’s Attorney (SA) Jamie L. Dykes said, “These young children were helpless to protect themselves against the horrific abuse suffered at the hands of Bochenek. I am grateful for the lifesaving efforts of EMS personnel, the steadfast investigation by law enforcement and child protective services, and the Court’s strong sentence.” SA Jamie L. Dykes commended Detective M. Rockwell of the Salisbury Police Department, who was the lead investigator, Child Protective Services, and other members of the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center for their work in the investigation, as well as members of Mardela Springs Volunteer Fire Company who treated the infant victim. SA Dykes also commended Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Calabrese, who prosecuted the case and advocated for justice.
