UK nursery worker jailed for manslaughter over death of 9-month-old

LONDON

A nursery worker in the UK who strapped a baby face-down to a bean bag and left her to die was jailed 14 years on Wednesday for manslaughter.

Kate Roughley, 37, left nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan in that condition for 97 minutes at the Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport in 2022.

CCTV footage showed the baby struggling and coughing.

During the trial, the judge sentenced Roughley to 14 years for manslaughter, saying the baby's death was "absolutely avoidable."

"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 noted.

"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," she added.

The defense insisted that Genevieve’s death was a "terrible and unavoidable accident" and not the result of any unlawful acts.