Unlicensed daycare provider sentenced to 10 days after causing 3-month-old’s death
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A judge sentenced Dana McNair to 10 days behind bars Thursday after a 3-month-old baby was found unresponsive at her daycare and later died.
McNair was arrested in June of 2021, after the incident took place in February of 2021. The autopsy report shows the child was put down for a nap in unsafe sleeping conditions and died of asphyxia.
McNair pleaded guilty to one count of felony child abuse causing serious bodily injury and one count of misdemeanor no-injury child abuse in January.
During her sentencing, a prosecutor mentioned to the judge that McNair had operated her daycare without a license for years, saying she had been warned to stop operating that daycare back in 2009, but she continued to operate it anyway.
The prosecutor also mentioned that there were 22 children in her care when she put that baby down to sleep on an adult bed. Most of those children were under the age of 8, with multiple of those children being infants. Four additional children were in the barn on her property as well.
McNair was sentenced to 10 days behind bars and four years of probation, with the condition that she is no longer allowed to operate or work in child care in any form. She will only serve 9 days, because she already spent one night in jail after her arrest. Her sentenced for one of the charges is deferred, which means once she completes her probation without issue, the felony charge will be removed from her record.
McNair will need to report to the jail on her next day off, which will be next week.
She will also have to complete a victim empathy course and 200 hours of community service. She will also have to write a letter of apology to give to the District Attorney's Office.
During the sentencing, the grandmother of the baby who died spoke to the judge. She thanked the first responders, officers, coroner's office, medical professionals, funeral home, grief counselors at Angel Eyes, and the community who rallied behind their family when the child died. She also asked the judge to understand the depth of the devastation this family will always feel after losing the three-month-old boy.
Two people spoke on behalf with McNair, telling the judge how wonderful of a person she is. Her attorney told the judge that "this has ruined her [McNair]" in a number of ways. Five others submitted letters to tell the judge about the positive impact McNair has made on their lives.
McNair sobbed for most of the hearing. She also addressed the court to apologize to the family of the baby who died, saying to the victim's family through tears, "nothing I can say will suffice right now, I have no words, the loss of a child is the most tragic thing for any parent, but to know I was the reason for your pain, is the most horrific pain I feel."
The judge agreed that McNair "put profit over safety or common sense" Thursday before sentencing McNair, saying she felt that was one of the reasons McNair needed to spend time behind bars for what happened. The DA's Office asked the judge to sentence her to 90 days behind bars, but the judge settled on 10 days.
