Former daycare owner sentenced to house arrest, probation, for assaulting children
A former Harvey Station daycare owner found guilty of assaulting children was sentenced Tuesday to six months on house arrest and one year of supervised probation.
Mary Jana McCormack, 34, ran the now-closed Laugh & Learn Children's Centre before being found guilty of seven counts of assault last September.
The offenses involved six children and occurred between Dec. 1, 2015, and June 22, 2016. McCormack was charged in November 2016.
McCormack was said to have force-fed children in her care and, in one instance, threw a child up some stairs.
'It's going to be with me forever'
Parents of the shared statements in Fredericton court on Tuesday, describing feelings of betrayal and distrust.
They said they feel guilty for overlooking the signs their children showed that something was wrong.
One mother said her 18-month-old would become hysterical when she put the blinker on to turn into the daycare's driveway.
Another described her child's increasing aggression and "meltdowns" at mealtime, especially over rice — something the court heard McCormack force-fed to the children.
"I'm glad that somebody else got the chance to say what I felt, and what I've lived," said one parent who can't be identified due to a publication ban.
"It's going to be with me forever. It's destroyed me. I have no trust. I thought I was doing everything I was supposed to be doing."
Judge explains decision
Judge Pierre Dubé said although McCormack caused indescribable hurt, she was a first-time offender, had a job and gave birth two months ago.
McCormack pleaded not guilty to eight charges of assault. One charge was dropped by the Crown because of insufficient evidence.
During the trial, the court heard McCormack jammed food into toddlers' mouths, sometimes forcing the food down their throats with her finger, and wrenching their heads back to force water down their throats when they refused to eat.
A witness saw a child vomit from the force-feeding and said McCormack made the child "eat his puke."
Children would vomit through their noses after being force-fed, while crying and gagging.
McCormack was also seen throwing a child up some stairs, one stair at a time, "like a rag doll" until, upon reaching the top, the child had a nosebleed.
She denied the accounts in her testimony during the trial.
Police spent five months investigating the allegations against McCormack before her arrest more than two years ago.
