A Vancouver woman who operated an unlicensed daycare where a toddler died in 2017 has been sentenced to 20 months in jail and 12 months probation.
In April, Susy Yasmine Saad pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life to nine children, including 16-month-old Macallan Saini, known as “Baby Mac.”
The details surrounding Baby Mac’s death were revealed in a civil suit his family launched against Saad claiming negligence.
The suit alleges that the boy had been left unattended at the East Vancouver daycare and choked on an electrical cord.
Crown prosecutors were seeking two years in jail for Saad, while her team was seeking a conditional sentence, which would mean no jail time.
In October, Baby Mac’s parents gave victim impact statements describing their pain and horror at losing their child.
“I still look for him because I will never accept that he is gone. And I will never see him again. Missing Mac is like missing a piece of my heart. I’m not who I was before and I’ll never be that person again,” Shelley Sheppard, Macallan’s mother, told the court.
“This is a life sentence for me and my family … I thought I would have decades to be with Mac, decades to learn who he was as a child, as a boy and as a man … I dream of who he would be now and what he would like. I missed out on his life and all the firsts a mother should experience.”
Chris Saini, the boy’s father, said the death left him “shattered in a million pieces.”
“No matter how I try I can’t feel complete. I can’t trust anyone. I think everyone is lying to me and out to get me,” he said.
“One of the most damaging effects of Mac dying is that almost six years later I still worry about him. I have dreams that he’s in danger and I can’t help him. I catch myself worrying about him walking between two cars, parked cars on the street and getting run over.”
Saad also addressed the court in October, telling Baby Mac’s parents she wished she could change the outcome of the tragic day.
“Hate me though you may, I have a truth to tell you about that night,” she said.
“I held your son in my arms screaming a prayer to God to save him. I tried over and over to breathe life into your son … I begged him to come back.”
The civil suit also claimed that when Sheppard arrived at the Olive Branch Daycare on the day of the child’s death, she found the home it operated from was crowded with children, one of whom was hidden behind a couch and others that were strapped to chairs.
Saad denied the negligence allegations, claiming she acted in accordance with the Community Care and Assisted Living Act at all times.
The family is also suing the province and Vancouver Coastal Health, both of whom have filed responses with the B.C. Supreme Court denying any responsibility.
None of the claims have been proven in court.
– with files from Global News’ Simon Little