Viral caregiver at Agbogba Private School who force-fed baby to death jailed
She initially pleaded not guilty but varied her plea to guilty of manslaughter after reaching a plea bargain with the Attorney General's office.
The 56-year-old professional nurse, Clara Yanyi-Ampah, working as a caregiver at Happy Bloomers School in Agbogba, has been sentenced to five years in prison for the death of an 11-month-old baby in 2021.
Yanyi-Ampah was charged with manslaughter under Section 50 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29, and was brought to trial at the High Court, Criminal Division, in Accra.
She initially pleaded not guilty but varied her plea to guilty of manslaughter after reaching a plea bargain with the Attorney General's office.
Under the plea agreement, both parties maintained the manslaughter charge and recommended a five-year sentence with hard labor to the court.
Per Section 162(h) of the Plea-Bargaining Act 1079, the court, presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, sought confirmation from the accused before sentencing.
Justice Marie-Louise Simmons, in delivering her judgment, stated, “On the basis of the plea of guilty of the offense of manslaughter, the accused is convicted on her own plea and sentenced to five (5) years imprisonment. The court has considered the eight months the accused spent in custody upon her arrest in May 2021 until she was granted bail. I have also considered the benefit of the plea deal, which has shortened the trial and reduced the burden on both the prosecution and the court.”
Facts of the case
The parents of the deceased, Randy and Patricia Ackah-Mensah, had enrolled their daughter, Allegra Camille Yaba Ackah-Mensah, at Happy Bloomers School in North Legon, Accra, on April 6, 2021.
Yanyi-Ampah, a caregiver responsible for caring for Allegra and two other children, was on duty on May 18, 2021, when Allegra, in good health earlier that day, became unresponsive around 2:50 pm.
Teacher Gladys Osei found Allegra unresponsive while Yanyi-Ampah was changing her clothes.
Osei quickly informed the school administrator, who rushed Allegra to North Legon Hospital.
The baby's father, Randy, was notified and, along with his wife, hurried to the hospital.
Despite medical efforts, Allegra was pronounced dead after arriving with no heartbeat or pulse.
Before the incident, Yanyi-Ampah had fed Allegra.
CCTV footage later revealed that Yanyi-Ampah force-fed Allegra by pulling her hands behind her back and pouring food down her throat using a cup, contrary to the school's spoon-feeding policy for toddlers.
This was subsequently confirmed by the post-mortem report that Allegra's death was due to asphyxiation caused by food aspiration from forced feeding.
