LONDON — A nursery worker in the UK, Kate Roughley, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Wednesday for the manslaughter of nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan. Roughley, 37, strapped the baby face-down to a bean bag and left her for 97 minutes at the Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport in 2022.
CCTV footage revealed the baby struggling and coughing during the incident. The judge condemned the act as “absolutely avoidable,” noting that Roughley performed only cursory and infrequent checks on the baby.
“As the harrowing CCTV audio and video footage showed, that day, you left Genevieve in that position, only carrying out the most cursory and infrequent of checks,” the judge stated. “I am certain that every person in this courtroom who watched that footage was willing you to pick her up and remove her from the danger you had placed her, knowing of course that you didn’t.”
The defense argued that Genevieve’s death was a “terrible and unavoidable accident” and not the result of any unlawful acts. Nonetheless, Roughley was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced accordingly.–News Desk