Pa. day care owner pleads guilty in baby death case

EASTON, Pa. (WPVI) -- The owner of a day care center in Pennsylvania has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a sudden infant death case.

The Northampton County prosecutor says Sharon Balleck, owner of the former Sharon's Day Care, pleaded guilty Monday to reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.

The Department of Human Services ordered the closure of her Lehigh Township business after 3-month-old McKenna Rose Felmly was found unresponsive on the first day at the center in April 2016. A coroner ruled she died of "sudden unexpected infant death."

A grand jury investigation found the baby was placed on her stomach in an unsupervised crib located in the back room of the day care.

Balleck could face probation or a short time in jail.

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