Maine Daycare Owner Charged After 19-Month-Old Baby Suffers Brain Injury At Facility

The owner of a home daycare in Maine was charged after a 19-month-old baby was found unconscious during nap time at the facility.

The court documents of the case regarding the incident, which took place in March, were released Monday. The documents, obtained by News Center Maine, stated Savannah Brann was charged with aggravated assault, assault on a child less than six years old and endangering the welfare of a child.

The baby, identified as Reagan Blagdon, was found face down and unresponsive during nap time at the Lil Beans Daycare.

"It's been very difficult," Susan Blagdon, Raegan's grandmother told the local media. "You just, you never expect it. You drop your child off. You think they're good. You think they're safe."

The incident left the baby with a brain injury due to lack of oxygen, the family said.

Susan Blagdon and her husband John told News Center Maine the child is slowly regaining strength, learning to eat, crawl and talk again. However, her sight is yet to return. Reagan is currently in a recovery center in Boston.

"We want to know what happened," John said. "Nobody expects their child or grandchild to the babysitters and get that phone call."

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services launched an investigation that revealed Brann could not get the baby to nap so she tightly swaddled her in a blanket. She then put her in a separate room away from the other kids. After three hours, Brann went to check on the baby and found her unconscious. She performed CPR to revive the baby.

A child abuse doctor claimed Raegan's injuries were consistent with "asphyxia due to a dangerous sleeping situation and inappropriate restraint."

Stephen Sweatt, the attorney for Brann, defended her in a statement, according to News Center Maine.

“What happened is a tragedy, there is no doubt about that. But my client has dedicated her life to taking care of children. She loves children. She is heavily involved in her church and community and has overwhelming community support. My client is young, has never been arrested, and has never been in trouble with the law. She maintains her innocence to the charges that have been brought against her," Sweatt said.

The family set up a GoFundMe page for the baby.

"The current goal is for Raegan to get out of intensive care and into a rehabilitation program which will aid Raegan on her path to recovery," the post on the fundraising website read.