January Neatherlin told parents they couldn’t pick up their children from Little Giggles day-care center between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. That three-hour period, she said, was nap time.
It was also CrossFit time and tan time for Neatherlin, the owner of the illegal day-care operation, according to court records obtained by the Oregonian. In one instance, police investigators say, it was also drop-her-own-kids-off-at-school-time.
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To avoid the risk that the seven infants and toddlers in her care would wake up, trudge around and possibly hurt themselves while she ran errands, Neatherlin drugged them with melatonin.
Neatherlin, 32, was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison last week after she pleaded guilty to 11 counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment and one count of third degree assault in connection with Little Giggles, according to the Oregonian.
Her scheme began to unravel last March when police were contacted by a former roommate and an ex-boyfriend.
Among other lies, Neatherlin told parents that she was a registered nurse, even though she wasn’t, investigators in Bend, Ore., testified.