Daycare operator charged following investigation into child’s death

WARD COUNTY, N.D. (KMOT) – A daycare operator faces charges of operating a daycare after their license was revoked, following the death of an infant last week.

According to a release from the Ward County Sheriff’s Office, several agencies responded to Marked with Joy Daycare in northwest Minot on Sept. 20, for a report of an unresponsive 15-month-old child. The child was later pronounced dead at Trinity Hospital.

Investigators said they discovered that the daycare was unlicensed, and the owner, Joyell Johnson, had had her license previously revoked by the state for a 2020 incident.

The sheriff’s office said Johnson was arrested for two counts of operating a daycare after her license was revoked, B-misdemeanors.

The investigation into the child’s death is ongoing.

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