Ex-daycare operator sentenced

SANDPOINT — The operator of a former Ponderay daycare center where a child was seriously injured earlier this year was effectively spared a jail sentence on Wednesday.

Dennis Ray McLeish III was charged with injury to a child at the misdemeanor level after an infant in his care at Little Fit Day Care was found unresponsive after being left unsupervised for as long as 30 minutes in the company of other older children who bit and pummeled the child, inflicting a litany of injuries to his head and body.

The Feb. 24 incident caused the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare to revoke Little Fit’s childcare provider license, the closure of the business and McLeish’s prosecution.

McLeish, 30, entered an Alford plea to the charge, largely to spare the victim’s family and his own family the rigors of a trial. Under the terms of the plea, McLeish admits no wrongdoing but concedes he could be convicted if a jury took up the case against him.

“Obviously, this is a horrific incident that nobody ever wants to relive. A big reason my client entered a plea in this case was to save the community, himself and the victim’s family from having to relive this,” said McLeish’s defense counsel, Sandpoint attorney Michael Waldrup.

Waldrup emphasized that McLeish was negligent in his supervision of the child but there was no evidence his client intended for the child to be injured.

Prosecutor Aaren Carnline recommended a 180-day jail sentence with 170 days suspended.

“In sum, the defendant was in a position of trust. Parents in the community entrust their children with daycare employees every day so they can work and do other productive things. Defendant, in that position of trust and profit, with the custody of the young baby violated that trust,” said Carnline.

McLeish said he was gutted upon discovering the injured child and acknowledged he failed in supervising him. He’s also been subject to more than a dozen death threats once news of incident spread across traditional and social media.

McLeish said he had worked back-to-back 16-hour days and became distracted while speaking with his wife, but added that there was no excuse for his inattention.

“I want everybody in the community to know that I am 100-percent remorseful. I have to live with the guilt of what happened to (the infant),” said McLeish, whose voice cracked with emotion while addressing the court.

The injured child’s family was on hand for the sentencing hearing, but declined to give a victim-impact statement to the court.

Julian granted McLeish a withheld judgment due to a lack of a prior criminal record and placed him on unsupervised probation for a year. A condition of his probation prohibits him from working in childcare. McLeish was also ordered to pay $750 in court costs, although restitution in the case is pending.

Judge Justin Julian said he was not squeamish about imposing jail sentences, but saw no point in incarcerating McLeish at taxpayer expense.

“When somebody makes a mistake that crosses the line into the criminal realm, which is usually a civil situation, I do understand the need for punishment and sometimes that can require jail as well. But I don’t think that is this is one of those cases,” said Julian.

Julian found McLeish’s remorse to be genuine and noted that his negligence in supervision cost him his business, his certification and his chosen profession.

Although McLeish still faces jail time if runs afoul of the terms of his probation, Julian instead imposed 20 hours of service in Bonner County high schools, where he will share his experience and underscore the consequences of failing to properly supervise children even for the briefest of moments.

Julian chose high schools as a venue because many of their students will eventually go on to raise their own children or enter the field of childcare.

“It’s my hope that by doing this, Mr. McLeish, it will help you feel that you’ve atoned for the mistake you made and the injuries that resulted and perhaps, more importantly, it will help prevent that from happening to someone else in the future,” Julian said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.