A former daycare worker will spend 30 weekends behind bars after an incident that sent an 8-month-old child in her care to hospital with head trauma.
Karina Medina Marquez ran a daycare in a home in Sainte-Foy, near Quebec City.
The baby boy joined the 36-year-old's daycare in late February 2017. The first two weeks did not go well, with Medina Marquez at one point telling the boy's parents that if the situation, constant crying, did not improve the child would not be allowed back.
On March 7, 2017 Medina Marquez contacted the boy's mother to inform her that her son had banged his head on the changing table. When the mother arrives at the daycare she noticed her son had a large bruise on his forehead, marks on his cheek and behind his ear.
At the hospital a doctor determined it would have been impossible for the child to suffer those types of injuries by banging his head on a table, tricycle (which Medina Marquez later added to the story) or a fall. The pediatrician said the injuries were the result of abuse.
The Director of Youth Protection closed the daycare. Police conducted a search of the premises but were never able to identify with certainty to object that was used to injure the child.
At trial Medina Marquez did not present a defense and was convicted of abusing the child. She maintains she did not hit the child.
On Monday Medina Marquez was sentenced to 60-days in prison, to be served on weekends, three years' probation and she is prohibited from holding any job that puts her in charge of minors.
The child, who is now two and a half years old, did not suffer any long term affects from the incident.