South Bay Woman Seen Coughing On Toddler Still Sought: Report

SAN JOSE, CA — A woman captured on video coughing on a baby at a South Bay frozen yogurt shop is still being sought by police more than two months after the alleged assault, The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Nancy Nordland, 65, has been charged by the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office with misdemeanor assault charges according to the report, which cites courts records and official sources.

A dispute over social distancing preceded the June 12 incident according to according to the San Jose Police Department, which released the video. The woman identified by authorities as Nordland is seen in the video pulling down her mask and coughing on a baby in a stroller.

Nordland is accused of deliberately coughing on the child, the report said.

Deputy District Attorney Aidan Welsh confirmed that a complaint was filed and that a warrant was issued for the former Oak Grove Union School District special-education teacher in an email to The Mercury News.

The toddler’s mother is shown in the video stopping in front of a pink line marking where customers are supposed to stand to comply with the county’s social-distancing guidelines.

The district fired Nordland shortly after the video of her coughing on the toddler surfaced.

“Police have not yet been able to locate defendant Nordland,” Welsh’s email read, according to the report.

The charges were filed on July 14 and were first reported by San Jose Inside.

Nordland’s husband forcefully disputed the allegations against his wife and the widespread media coverage the incident has generated.

“My wife has been accused on the internet of things she did not do,” Todd Norland told The Mercury News.

“She has received death threats as a consequence. Shame on you for reporting and investigating and propagating this fake news.”

The incident is especially concerning because it occurred amid a global pandemic. The coronavirus is a respiratory illness known to be spread by airborne droplets.

The toddler’s mother told The Washington Post that incident has left her son "traumatized."

"She coughed on him super hard. It wasn't an accident," Mireya Mora told The Post. "A person with a heart that cares would not do that to a baby."

"He's been traumatized," Mora added.

Mora, who is of Hispanic descent, suspects racism played a role in the incident, according to the report.

She told The Post that an employee confirmed that she'd been adhering to social distancing rules after the suspect complained to a Yogurtland employee.

Mora, who was with her grandmother at the time of the incident, is seen on the surveillance video stopping in front of a pink line.

"I believe it's racism because the woman in front of me, she did not start harassing me and my family until I started speaking Spanish to my grandmother," Mora told The Post.

"She was super close to the people in front of her, they were also white, she did not tell them anything. She didn't have a problem with it."

Mora told The Post she hopes to see the suspect criminally prosecuted for what police described as "an assault."

"Her coughing is a deadly weapon because she doesn't know if she has coronavirus," Mora told The Post.

"She attacked a defenseless baby."

Read more in The San Jose Mercury News

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