VIRGINIA BEACH — A 49-year-old woman will spend one year in jail for running an unlicensed daycare out of her Virginia Beach home.
Police believe Marlene Rice was caring for 17 children in the house, located in the 800 block of Levy Loop. While in her care, a 4-month-old girl died.
Rice pleaded guilty to 11 counts of operating an unlicensed daycare on Aug. 22. She was sentenced on Tuesday to 132 months in jail with all but one year suspended. In addition to the jail time, Rice was prohibited from ever running a daycare of caring for children again, according to the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Rice was charged after the 4-month-old baby was found in her home on Aug. 15, 2016. First responders arrived at the home at 11:51 a.m., about 20 minutes after Rice discovered the dead infant in a baby play yard, according to the VBCA.
Rice said she’d laid the baby down for a nap around 10 a.m. She checked on the infant around 11:30 a.m. and found her cold to the touch. Rice performed CPR on the baby until firefighters arrived, according to the VBCA.
The baby was one of 17 children found in the house. Some were outside playing unsupervised in a pool, while others were in a playroom or upstairs.
Rice told police she only has 12 children in the house, including her granddaughter, but couldn’t provide the names of all of the kids or the contact information for some of their parents. A count of the children showed there were actually 17 in the daycare, according to the VBCA.
Police officers stayed at the home to care for the kids until their parents were contacted and came to pick them up. Investigation showed that there were 11 instances of Rice running an unlicensed daycare from Aug. 1 to Aug. 15, although the woman said she’d been caring for children in her home for more than 20 years.
Rice was initially charged with child abuse and neglect in connection to the 4-month-old’s death; however, an autopsy of the baby showed that she died of “sudden unexplained infant death,” and the charge was dismissed.
It’s illegal for a person to care for four children under the age of two in a family home daycare that is unlicensed. Home daycares that care for five to 12 kids, excluding the person’s own kids or any minors who live in the house, must be licensed, according to information provided by the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney.
Rice was aware of the state laws that regulate daycares. In 2005 authorities received a complaint about the daycare and discovered six toddlers and an infant in the home, according to the VBCA.
Send news tips to [email protected].
