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Judge frees woman sentenced in child's death at day care

VIRGINIA BEACH

A woman found to have 20 young children in her care when one died in 2005 went free Monday after a new sentencing hearing that was ordered by the Virginia Supreme Court.

Ann Marie Cardinal, 46, had served 3-1/2 years of a 10-year sentence when Circuit Judge H. Thomas Padrick Jr. announced he would cut her original sentence nearly in half, give her credit for time served and suspend the remainder.

The decision marked the latest twist in the case.

Cardinal had been the subject of numerous complaints to Child Protective Services, and she was convicted in 2000 on a misdemeanor charge related to putting young children in a closet.

In 2001, she and her husband, Michael Cardinal, were convicted of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses, a felony. She received a suspended prison term, and as a convicted felon was prohibited from being licensed to provide day care. Records show she continued to advertise as a legitimate day care provider up until 9-month-old Hannah Weiss died at Cardinal's home.

Hannah's mother, Trish Weiss, testified Monday that she thought Cardinal was licensed to run a day care facility after seeing a framed certificate hanging on the wall of Cardinal's home. Weiss said Cardinal also claimed to know CPR.

But Cardinal was not licensed, and when police responded Sept. 14, 2005, to her Highpoint Avenue home, they found her improperly performing CPR on the lifeless infant, according to court testimony.

A medical examiner found evidence that suggested the child might have been smothered, but ultimately ruled the death as "sudden unexpected infant death with no anatomic cause."

Cardinal was charged with 10 counts of operating a day care without a license. Prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to support more serious charges against Cardinal.

Under state law, Cardinal would have served about five of the 10 years she was sentenced to serve in 2006. However, she was granted a new sentencing hearing after appealing because no court reporter was present to record the original hearing.

At Monday's hearing, the judge complained that the General Assembly had not crafted a statute that would address deceptive behavior such as Cardinal's. He also was frustrated to hear Child Protective Services would not release details of founded complaints against a day care to parents unless the provider grants permission.

"It's a huge tragedy all around, and at the same time, it's an alarm bell for parents seeking day care for their children," the judge said. "The state's not going to help them much."

Hannah's parents, Nick and Trish Weiss, wept as the judge imposed the sentence and said afterward they would continue to push state lawmakers to establish a child-abuser registry, as well as a database of model day care providers vetted and sanctioned by state officials.

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com
Source URL (retrieved on 08/19/2009 - 16:37): http://hamptonroads.com/2009/08/judge-frees-woman-sentenced-childs-death-day-care