Former Georgia Daycare Operator Gets 30 Years After Death of Baby Placed Face-Down in Pack 'n' Play

Amanda Hickey, 48, pleaded guilty to multiple charges

The owner of an in-home Georgia daycare center has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with the death of a 4-month-old and the abuse of other children in her care.

On Sept. 22, Amanda Hickey, 48, of Dunwoody, pleaded guilty to seven counts of first-degree cruelty to children, seven counts of reckless conduct, one count of second-degree cruelty to children and three counts of simple battery, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a statement.

Hickey took an Alford plea to the charge of second-degree murder in connection with the death of 4-month old Charlie Cronmiller, Boston said in the statement. (An Alford plea allows defendants to plead guilty while maintaining their innocence.)

On Friday, a DeKalb County Superior Court judge sentenced Hickey to 35 years in prison, serving 30 in confinement and the remaining 5 years on probation. 

Once she is released, conditions of her probation include that she may not have any contact with the victims or their families, she may not have any contact or work with any children under the age of 13 and may not gain financially from the case.

Related: 3-Month-Old Baby Found Dead at In-Home Daycare, 6 Others Allegedly Left Alone, as Owner Is Charged

The case began to unfold on Feb. 3, 2021, when Hickey called 911 to report that a child in her care at Little Lovey home daycare center, which she operated out of her basement, was unresponsive.

Hickey told police she placed the child, later identified as Charlie, on his back in a Pack ‘n Play for a nap, according to the arrest warrant, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. She told authorities he must have rolled over onto his stomach, the warrant says.

Video footage obtained by police showed that she placed the baby on his stomach — against recommended medical guidelines for safe infant sleeping positions, Boston said in the statement.

The baby was left unattended for more than two hours before he was found unresponsive, Boston said in the statement.

He was rushed to a local hospital where he died.

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“I wish I could erase that day,” Stephanie Cronmiller, the deceased baby’s mother, said in a prepared statement, Atlanta News First reports. “I wish I had Charlie in my arms.”

Further investigation revealed physical abuse against six other victims in the daycare center ranging in age from 6 months to 16 months old, Boston said in the statement.

According to the indictment, Hickey was accused of “slamming a child on the floor,” pulling the hair of another child, “forcing her face-first into a playpen,” picking up a child by one leg and swinging the child by the leg into a playpen onto her head, shaking a child, and carrying a child in a “negligent manner causing him to bump his head and cry,” Atlanta News First reports.

In court on Friday, Atlanta News First reports, Hickey apologized to the families of her victims, saying, “There are no excuses. I failed everyone. I failed myself. I failed my family, parents, clients, previous clients. I broke everyone’s hearts with my conduct that day, and I take absolute responsibility for everything.”

The daycare center was licensed for a maximum of six children, but was at nearly double capacity on Feb, 3, 2021, the statement said.

“Today’s plea and sentencing put to rest what has been a painful chapter for the families who once trusted Amanda Hickey to watch over what they hold most dear, their children,” Boston said in the statement.

“While her decision to plead guilty to her crimes will not undo the harm she inflicted, it does spare these families the pain of re-living their worst days at trial," the statement added.

Hickey’s attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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