A nursery deputy manager caused the death of a baby girl whom she placed face down, tightly swaddled and strapped to a bean bag for more than an hour and a half, a court has heard. Kate Roughley, 37, is accused of the manslaughter by ill-treatment of nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan who she found unresponsive and blue on the afternoon of May 9, 2022, at the Tiny Toes Nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
Staff and then paramedics attempted to revive Genevieve, known to her family as Gigi, but her condition was irreversible and she was pronounced dead later that day in hospital. Opening the case on Tuesday at Manchester Crown Court, prosecutor Peter Wright KC told jurors that strapping a child to a bean bag on their front was an “obvious recipe for disaster” and led to the death of the youngster from a combination of asphyxia and pathophysiological stress.
He said the reason for Genevieve’s decline was not fully realised at the time but the picture became “much clearer” when CCTV within the baby room was later viewed. The defendant, a qualified nursery nurse and early years practitioner with 17 years of experience, was the duty baby room leader and in charge of sleep arrangements on May 9.
Mr Wright said: “Genevieve had been put down to sleep in the baby room that afternoon by Kate Roughley. Doing so had involved her swaddling Genevieve so tightly that the child was effectively unable to move. “The child had then been placed not on her back but on her front and thus in reality, and for all purposes, face down.
“The risk to a baby as young as Genevieve in wrapping them tightly in this way and not putting them down on their back was, we say, obvious. All the more we say when you discover that she had not placed Genevieve onto a cot or a sleeping mat but onto a bean bag.
“As if that wasn’t bad enough, we say, Genevieve was also strapped front down onto the bag by means of a harness. The obvious effect of such a method of restraint in such a position was, we say, bound to restrict even further the ability of Genevieve to move or breathe freely. Finally, a blanket was placed over her that covered her practically from head to foot. The inevitable consequence of this would make any observations of her even less easy to undertake and the risk to a child suffering from overheating ever more likely.
“Unsurprisingly, Genevieve was distressed by this treatment but her cries were ignored and she was left tightly swaddled, restrained and covered in this position.”
The prosecutor said Genevieve was left virtually immobilised and face down from 1.35pm to 3.12pm. He went on: “Throughout the time of one hour and 37 minutes during which Genevieve had been left unable to move other than minimally, her cries and distress – sometimes accompanied by efforts to move or reposition herself – were simply ignored.
“Any level of interest in her wellbeing was during this period, we say, sporadic and, at best, fleeting. The risk to Genevieve of asphyxiation and death was both serious and obvious. Yet Kate Roughley ignored it and by the time she checked Genevieve with anything vaguely representing any genuine interest in her condition it was too late.
“The defendant treated Genevieve in a way that all sober and reasonable people would recognise was both dangerous and would, unless averted, subject Genevieve to the risk of some harm. “The risk of asphyxiation if left in this position and condition was obvious for all to see.
“The lack of any effective monitoring of Genevieve over this period of time simply increased the probability of what was so obviously likely to happen unless averted.”
Roughley, of Heaton Norris, Stockport, denies manslaughter and an alternative count of child cruelty. The trial, estimated to last four weeks, continues on Thursday.
