A woman who operated an unlicensed day care facility in Republic was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison after
an 8-month-old baby suffered a serious head injury in her care back in 2017.
Samantha Dillbeck, 32, was sentenced to the prison time at a hearing in front of Judge Calvin Holden.
After a bench trial earlier this year, it was Holden who found Dillbeck guilty of felony abuse or
neglect of a child and an infraction for operating an unlicensed day care with too many children.
According to court documents, an 8-month-old child at Dillbeck's facility in March 2017 became unresponsive and had to be rushed to the hospital and treated there for a week before making a miraculous recovery.
Dillbeck was consistent in telling authorities the child got the injuries after falling over from a seated position, but the state said doctors who treated the boy found that story implausible and that the injuries were "non-accidental."
After the trial, Judge Holden ruled that the evidence suggested Dillbeck recklessly committed an act that led to the boy's injuries.
At Friday's sentencing hearing, Dillbeck's attorneys asked for probation, saying Dillbeck was kind, gentle and caring, with no history of abusing children.
Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson argued, however, that it would be against state law to give Dillbeck probation. Plus, he said, the significance of the boy's injuries merited some prison time.
