Director who caused death of 1-year-old child by refusing naps receives additional sentence for further abuse

Registered Daughter as Daycare Teacher and Illegally Received Subsidies as Well

A daycare center director in her 60s was sentenced to 18 years in prison for suffocating a 9-month-old child under her care because the child refused to take a nap. Additional evidence of child abuse has since emerged, leading to further prison sentences.

On the 18th, the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Kim Su-jeong) sentenced Director A, who was charged with violating the Child Abuse Punishment Act and other offenses, to one year in prison and a fine of 5 million won. Additionally, childcare teacher B and A’s daughter C, both charged with abusing children, were each sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year probation period and ordered to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program.

A was tried for physically abusing children aged 7 months to 3 years by hitting their backs at the daycare center she operated in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, between September and October 2022. She is also accused of fraudulently receiving approximately 4.2 million won in subsidies by falsely registering children who did not attend the daycare from September to December 2021, and receiving about 1.7 million won in subsidies by registering her daughter as a daycare teacher during a similar period. B and C are accused of physically abusing children at the daycare center between September and October 2022.

The court stated, "A, as the director, neglected to prevent child abuse in the daycare center and physically abused infants and toddlers, which is a serious offense. The victims were only 2 to 3 years old or younger and unable to express themselves, requiring care appropriate to their developmental characteristics. However, the defendant repeatedly used physical force, demonstrating the severity of the crime."

Previously, A was arrested and indicted in November 2022 for suffocating a 9-month-old victim, Cheon Mo, by placing him face down, covering him with a blanket, and pressing her upper body on him for 14 minutes because he would not take a nap. She was sentenced to 18 years in prison in February, a sentence that was finalized.