Probation ordered after infant dies at unlicensed Overland Park day care

The operator of a home day care in Overland Park where a baby died last year pleaded no contest Friday to child endangerment.

Bilma Maese-Sanchez, 55, also pleaded no contest in Johnson County District Court to operating an unlicensed day care facility.

A judge found Maese-Sanchez guilty of the misdemeanor charges. She was placed on probation for one year, but could serve a year in jail if she violates conditions of her probation.

The Lenexa boy, identified in court documents as Gabriel Omar Rivera-Contreras, died at her home Feb. 4.

An autopsy report listed Gabriel’s cause of death as sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.

Overland Park police were called to her home in the 7700 block of Benson Street on a report of a child not breathing. First responders performed CPR, but the 7-month-old could not be revived.

According to the autopsy report, Gabriel’s mother dropped him off at about 4 a.m. that day. He was fed and had his diaper changed around 6 a.m.

He was seen sleeping on his side around 10 a.m. But at noon, when his mother returned, he was found unresponsive, according to the report.

Maese-Sanchez was not accused of intentionally hurting the child.

The charges said that she placed the child in a situation where his “life, body or health could have been endangered.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2018 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Probation ordered after infant dies at unlicensed Overland Park day care."