Woman Pleads Guilty to 5th Degree Assault

ST. CLOUD -- A St. Cloud woman has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge after an infant child in her care was found with bruises on her neck and back.

Fifty-seven-year-old Sandra Erickson ran a daycare in the 1400 block of Case Lane in St. Cloud. The parent of the infant girl dropped off her daughter on the morning of September 2nd, 2014. Court records show when the mom picked up the child later that afternoon, she noticed redness around her eyes and later noticed bruises around the neck and back of the infant.

Medical staff concluded the baby's bruising was patterned and the marks on her neck were suggestive of strangulation.

Erickson denied knowing of how the child got the marks when she spoke to police the following day. She pleaded guilty this week to the misdemeanor assault charge, was sentenced to 90 days in jail with all but five days stayed. She gets five days credit for time served and must pay a $300 fine. Two other felony charges were dismissed.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services revoked Erickson's daycare license following an investigation into the matter.