Credit: Bob Castelli
A Bristol Township woman was arraigned Friday morning on a charge she operated an unlicensed child care center where an infant girl died last year.
Jaimee Lee Gorman, 36, was charged with a single count of operating an unlicensed facility. She was arraigned at 10 a.m. before District Judge Frank Peranteau Jr. and bail was set at $100,000 unsecured.
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According to court papers, Gorman operated an unlicensed child care center out of a Croydon home in the 1100 block of Fourth Avenue. She was reportedly babysitting nine children – more than four of which were not related to her – on Friday, June 16, 2017 when the baby suffocated due to car seat straps choking her while in the car seat.
Officers were called to the home child care center for a report of a child that was not breathing. Police and medics found Gorman holding the unresponsive child when they arrived. Neighbors and a police official said at the time that a patrol car escorted an ambulance to Lower Bucks Hospital.
The baby – identified as A.S. – was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to authorities.
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In court papers, police said Gorman told investigators the baby was in the car seat and strapped in. She told police the child was left in a bedroom and found unresponsive by another child who went to check on the baby.
According to Pennsylvania Department of Human Services regulations, child care providers are required to have a license if they are taking care of four or more kids who are not relatives.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
