An Iowa woman who previously operated a home daycare facility has been sentenced to a significant prison term following the death of a toddler in her care.
Hannah Priest, 31, entered a guilty plea to child endangerment resulting in death, nearly four years after 23-month-old Sebastian Jespersen lost his life following an incident at her daycare. According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, emergency medical personnel responded on January 19, 2023, to a call from Priest’s home in Emmetsburg, Iowa, where she operated her daycare service. Priest informed first responders that she had discovered Sebastian unresponsive after placing him down for a nap in his sleeping cot.
The young boy passed away in the hospital several days later.
Court documents reveal that an autopsy determined Sebastian had sustained brain trauma consistent with deliberately inflicted injuries. During her initial conversations with authorities, Priest denied that Sebastian had been injured in any accidental manner and maintained that none of the other children present had caused him harm.
Priest initially told police that Sebastian had been behaving normally prior to being placed down for his nap. However, as the investigation progressed over several months, Priest admitted during an interview in May 2023 that she had grown frustrated with Sebastian around the time he was due to take his nap. According to court documents, Priest stated that Sebastian had not used the bathroom at any point that day. Acting out of frustration, she acknowledged placing Sebastian into his cot by gripping his shoulders, though she claimed to have been unaware of her own strength when she set him down.
Sebastian passed away just a couple of weeks before what would have been his second birthday.
Priest was sentenced on Monday to up to 50 years in prison, though she remains eligible for parole consideration.
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