JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — A James City County woman has pleaded guilty to felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of operating a daycare without a license after authorities said an infant died at an unlicensed childcare center in Aug. 2022.
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James City County woman charged after infant dies at unlicensed daycare: Police
Court records show Kimberly Henretty has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Oct. 18, 2023. She remains in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail, held without bail.
In exchange for her plea, prosecutors moved to dismiss the remaining felony count of child neglect, court records show.
On Aug. 9, 2022, police and emergency medical personnel were called to a 4-month-old in cardiac arrest at a daycare operated by Henretty, located at a private home in the 5000 block of Thomas Court, police said.
The infant died at the scene, authorities said. The Norfolk Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the infant's cause of death to be Sudden Unexplained Infant Death or SUID.
An investigation found Henretty was not licensed to operate the daycare, police said. Authorities found she was caring for 10 children, all under 5 years old, at the time of the incident.
Henretty turned herself into the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail on April 17, 2023, the police department said.
Henretty's attorneys declined to comment.
