Charge pending against Little Fit daycare operator

PONDERAY — A criminal charge is pending against the operator of Little Fit Day Care after an infant was seriously injured by other children at the facility last month, according to Ponderay Police.

Detective Sgt. Mike Victorino said Dennis Ray McLeish is facing a charge of injury to a child. McLeish is being prosecuted at the misdemeanor level, according to police.

Officers and detectives were summoned to Bonner General Immediate Care on Feb. 24 after staff called 911 to report the arrival of an unresponsive 6-month-old baby. Victorino said extraordinary efforts were necessary to evoke a response from the infant, who was transferred to Bonner General Health in Sandpoint.

Police said the immediate investigation revealed the infant had been spanked and bitten while at Little Fit, an activity-based daycare facility in the Bonner Mall. The completed investigation, meanwhile, showed that five children were left unattended. In addition to the infant, there were two twins under the age of two, in addition to two older toddlers. Victorino said McLeish was the only staff member present during the incident.

“It was also during that same 30-minute period that the infant was severly beaten for a period of approximately 20 minutes by another child in the room, sustaining injuries that required hospitalization,” Victorino said in a news release.

Police said the infant is recovering at home.

McLeish abruptly closed the daycare due to “unforeseen circumstances” earlier this month. It was later revealed through Idaho Department of Health & Welfare records that the agency was terminating Little Fit’s Idaho Child Care Program provider agreement due to a violation of its terms. The department cited a police report which indicated that the infant was hit, held down by the neck, head-butted and hit with toys during the period they were left unattended.

McLeish, 30, was prosecuted for misdemeanor battery for allegedly placing his hands on a recalcitrant 6-year-old boy he was attempting to take to school in 2017. The child told authorities that McLeish placed his hands on his neck while guiding him to the vehicle, according to a Ponderay Police report.

McLeish denied being forceful with the boy and told police he grabbed the hood of his sweatshirt to guide him toward the vehicle, the report said.

At the time, McLeish was operating the Little Fit from a home on Kootenai Cutoff Road, court documents indicate.

“(I) lost my businesses (due) to this accusation so I am struggling to find work,” McLeish said in his application for the appointment of a public defender.

McLeish entered into deferred prosecution which stayed the proceedings for four months. Under the terms of the agreement, the charge would be dismissed if McLeish picked up no new criminal charges during the deferment period.

An order of dismissal was ultimately filed in the case, court records show.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.