A Champlin day care provider put down a 6-month-old boy "a little harder than normal" and inflicted a severe brain injury, then tried to blame the assault on another child in her care, according to court documents.
Michelle M. Holte, 58, has been charged in Hennepin County District Court with first-degree assault in connection with her injuring the boy Oct. 18 at her home in the 11700 block of N. Colorado Avenue.
Holte was arrested Oct. 24 and released three days later on $10,000 bond. She is due in court Dec. 12. Her defense attorney, Derek Archambault, said Wednesday that "at this very early stage in the case, I'm afraid I'm not able to provide any comment."
In the meantime, Holte's state license to provide care for up to 10 children in her home has been suspended pending further investigation.
The state Department of Human Services "cannot ensure the health and safety of the children served by your program at this time," the agency told Holte in writing. "DHS has determined that the health, safety, and rights of children in your care are in imminent risk of harm."
The boy, who is not identified in public court documents, is facing "long-term medical consequences" after a hospital examination revealed a severe brain injury, and bleeding on the brain and elsewhere in his head, the criminal complaint read.
He was put into a medically induced coma, had part of his skull removed to ease his brain's swelling and was last reported to be in critical condition, the complaint continued.
According to the complaint and an accompanying court filing:
The boy's parents picked him up from day care and noticed he would not look straight ahead and his limbs were rigid.
After taking the boy to the hospital, his mother called Holte, who explained that her son was dropped by another child at day care. Holte gave police investigators the same account, however a doctor who examined the boy said the injuries were inconsistent with Holte's contention.
The child whom Holte accused of harming the boy was interviewed at a nonprofit child advocacy center and demonstrated how Holte dropped the infant from eye level.
During a second interview with investigators, Holte acknowledged tossing the boy into a Pack-n-Play and "putting him down a little harder than normal," the complaint quoted her as saying.
She said she was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at the time. She added that she's been providing day care for so long that she got to "a breaking point in a bad way, in a wrong way," her quotes in the complaint continued.
