WEST FORK -- A driver who left a child on a preschool van for more than six hours on Sept. 9 was found guilty Tuesday of endangering the welfare of a minor.
Connie Ramey, 56, of West Fork, was sentenced to 50 days in jail, with the sentence suspended, and ordered to pay a $750 fine.
Ramey was a driver for Growing God's Kingdom preschool, which is owned by state Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, and his wife, Marsha Harris.
After a three-hour trial Tuesday night, West Fork District Judge Clinton "Casey" Jones said it was a difficult case but he believed Ramey's behavior was a "gross deviation" from the standard of care a reasonable person would take and thus amounted to reckless behavior under Arkansas Code Annotated 5-7-207.
"She had no purpose to do any harm," Jones said from the bench. "I'm convinced of that beyond a reasonable doubt."
But Ramey had somehow overlooked the 3-year-old girl at least five times that day, according to testimony.
"I do think it's a gross deviation to not notice a child strapped in a seat on as many opportunities as you had," Jones said.
Ramey was charged with, and found guilty of, third-degree endangerment, which is a misdemeanor. Marsha Harris testified that she fired Ramey after the incident.
Martha Salazar of Fayetteville, the mother of the child, testified through an interpreter that her daughter won't go to school because she's afraid of being left on the bus. Salazar said she believes Ramey left the girl on the bus on purpose.
Ramey told the court she didn't know how she overlooked the child. But the high that day was 81 degrees, the van was parked in the shade, and the child was unharmed, according to a doctor's report and court testimony.
"If I missed her, I don't know how I missed her," Ramey testified. "I can't explain it. She's alive. I can't explain that either. For someone to say I did that intentionally to a child, it's ridiculous. It's the most ridiculous thing I've heard."
Ramey testified that the child is "tiny" and she usually buckled her into a car seat on the end by the aisle. But Salazar buckled her daughter in on Sept. 9 and put her in a seat by the window, where it was more difficult to see her.
Ben Catterlin, a public defender who represented Ramey, argued that the child should have made herself known to Ramey, who entered or exited the van at least five times and sat in it for 20 minutes doing paperwork.
"What if the kid was under the seat?" Catterlin said during his closing arguments. "What if the kid was hiding? Why didn't the kid say, 'Hey, hi, I'm here'?"
Catterlin said the child might have left the van, possibly going to the playground, and returned later that day.
"There are too many other explanations for what might have happened to blame recklessness on Mrs. Ramey," he said.
Jason Boyeskie, the prosecuting attorney, disagreed.
"You missed her five times over six hours," he said. "The pattern of conduct alone says it's reckless."
Ramey surrendered to police Oct. 9 after learning a warrant had been issued for her arrest. She was booked into the Washington County jail in Fayetteville but was not detained. She was cited and released without having to post bond.
According to the police report, Ramey picked up the girl about 7:15 a.m. on Sept. 9, unloaded children at the preschool at 8 a.m. and then made a second run to pick up more children. She unloaded the second group of children at the preschool around 9 a.m. She then parked the van in the shade and did paperwork for 20 minutes.
Ramey, who wasn't feeling well, went home for a couple of hours and returned to the school around 1 p.m. that day. Then she discovered the child hadn't been in class that day.
Justin Harris told police Ramey called his wife at 2:26 p.m. on Sept. 9, and Marsha Harris instructed Ramey to take the child into the air-conditioned preschool building.
Metro on 01/06/2016