Daycare Center Director Sentenced to 9 Years for the Suffocation Death of a 21-Month-Old Child Who Did Not Take a Nap

Covered with a blanket and tied to prevent movement of limbs... Left for 1 hour leading to suffocation death
Court: "Repeated wrongful actions despite knowing children's behavioral traits well"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] A daycare center director who was prosecuted for covering a 21-month-old girl with a blanket and restraining her from moving, causing her death because she did not take a nap, has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) announced on the 5th that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing A (55) to nine years in prison in the appeal trial on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (child abuse resulting in death) and other charges.

A was prosecuted for causing the death of a child (then 21 months old) at a daycare center in Jung-gu, Daejeon, Chungnam, on March 30 of last year.

A, who operated the daycare center, tried to put the victim child to sleep, but when the child struggled, A laid the child face down on a blanket, covered the child’s neck with the blanket, and used her legs and arms to prevent the child from moving, according to the investigation.

A maintained this position for about 11 minutes, and when the victim child stopped moving, A removed the blanket but left the child face down without properly laying her down for about an hour, resulting in death by suffocation.

Additionally, A is accused of abusing other children 35 times by pushing them to the floor or pulling their hair when they climbed on her body or tried to lift their heads because they would not fall asleep.

A’s younger sibling, B, who is also a daycare teacher, was prosecuted for aiding and abetting by not stopping A despite knowing that her sister used coercive methods to put children to sleep, such as wrapping their bodies with blankets, tightly hugging them with hands and feet, or placing her legs on their bodies to prevent movement.

The first and second trials stated, "A had worked as a daycare teacher for over 15 years and had been the director of the daycare center since 2014, so she should have been well aware of the children's behavioral characteristics, yet she repeatedly engaged in wrongful conduct," sentencing A to nine years in prison, ordering 40 hours of child abuse treatment programs, and imposing a 10-year ban on employment at child-related institutions. B was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation.

The Supreme Court also agreed with the lower courts' judgment.