Daycare operator enters an Alford plea

SANDPOINT — The state appears to have leveraged a plea in the case of the former operator of a Ponderay daycare where an infant was seriously injured earlier this year.

Dennis Ray McLeish III entered an Alford plea to a misdemeanor charge of injury to a child on Wednesday during a pretrial hearing, Bonner County Magistrate Court records show. Under the terms of the plea, McLeish admits no wrongdoing but concedes a jury could find him guilty of the offense if the matter went before a jury.

The plea will be regarded no differently than a plea of guilt when McLeish is sentenced on June 5. McLeish, 30, faces up to a year in jail, although court records suggest a lesser sentence could be recommended in the case.

McLeish was charged after an unresponsive 6-month-old boy was rushed to Bonner Immediate Care in Ponderay on Feb. 24. The infant was enrolled at Little Fit Day Care in the Bonner Mall at the time he was injured, prompting investigations by Ponderay Police and the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare.

The probes determined McLeish had left the child unattended in the presence of several older children for as long as 30 minutes, according to court documents. Time-lapsed surveillance footage show older children spanking, head-butting, dragging and biting the infant. The infant was also pelted with toys, court records indicate.

Ponderay Police said the child recovered from his injuries after being revived at Bonner Immediate Care.

Idaho Health & Welfare revoked Little Fit’s childcare provider license which forced the facility’s closure.

McLeish pleaded not guilty to the offense, but entered the Alford plea after the state advised it was prepared to elevate the offense to a felony level if a plea agreement was not reached in the case, court records show.

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