RUTLAND — A former child care provider convicted of fatally medicating an infant was sentenced Tuesday to 3 to 10 years in prison, after the baby’s family testified about their continued struggles to cope with her death.
The defendant, Stacey Vaillancourt, was found guilty in December of manslaughter and child cruelty resulting in the death of 6-month-old Harper Rose Briar in January 2019.
Vermont’s chief medical examiner ruled that the child died of intoxication from diphenhydramine, an antihistamine that has sedative effects and is the active ingredient in medications such as Benadryl. The infant had not been prescribed the medication.
The state alleged that Vaillancourt fatally sedated Harper — who was described by witnesses as having difficulty sleeping for long periods — on the baby’s third day at Vaillancourt’s in-home child care program in Rutland.
Vaillancourt, 58, told jurors that the infant had some difficulty going to sleep but denied ever giving her a sedative. Her lawyers argued that someone else could have medicated the child before she arrived at Vaillancourt’s home on the day she died.
Harper was pronounced dead at Rutland Regional Medical Center, where she was brought by emergency responders whom Vaillancourt called after she saw that the infant was no longer breathing.
At the Rutland Superior criminal court on Tuesday, Harper’s relatives talked about how her death had upended their lives. Her maternal grandmother, Brenda Colburn, said she had been on suicide watch over Harper’s mom for two to three months.
“Because she just wanted to be with her baby,” Colburn said while reading from a statement, her hands shaking as they held the pages of paper. “The loss of my granddaughter created a permanent hole in our family that can never be repaired.”
Harper and her parents had been living at Colburn’s home in Pittsford since her birth.
The baby’s father, Blake Briar, said his daughter’s death brought on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Her mother, Marissa Briar, said she has anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, nightmares and insomnia.
The child’s aunt, Alexia Colburn, said Harper’s death changed everyone in the family.
“I didn’t just lose Harper. I lost my sister, my mother, my father and my brothers,” she said. “I had to relearn who my family was.”
Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan asked Judge Cortland Corsones to sentence Vaillancourt to 20 to 25 years in prison — the maximum penalty for Vaillancourt’s two felony offenses, served consecutively. Manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison; cruelty to a child with death resulting, 10 years.
Sullivan, the lead prosecutor, said Vaillancourt harmed not only Harper but also the child’s family and the public.
“She killed a baby in her care,” he said. “For parents who rely on day cares, the defendant is the nightmare that wakes them up in a cold sweat, and during their waking hours, causes them to wonder whether their child can ever truly be safe with anyone.”
Defense attorney Robert McClallen asked for a suspended sentence of up to 10 years. It meant Vaillancourt would have been put on probation for this period. Violations of probation would mean prison time.
McClallen said that, despite the remarks of Harper’s family, Vaillancourt was “not a monster.” He said she ran a child care program for nearly 26 years without incident, thereby contributing to the local community.
McClallen said she found work in the housekeeping department of a ski resort after she closed her child care business following Harper’s death. He said her supervisor found her hardworking and dependable. Placing Vaillancourt on probation, he said, would allow her to remain a productive citizen.
Corsones said he had to consider multiple factors in sentencing a person, including their criminal history and characteristics, need for punishment and rehabilitation, and nature and circumstances of the crime. Vaillancourt has no criminal record and the state Department of Corrections’ pretrial report found her to be a low risk of reoffending.
“Ms. Vallaincourt’s history is otherwise as an upstanding citizen,” Corsones said. “She is hardworking, entrepreneurial, caring and loving.”
The judge said Vaillancourt’s conviction was not for intending to kill Harper when she sedated the baby. He also said Vaillancourt has a serious illness, the details of which the court did not have.
But the judge denied McClallen’s request for a stay of Vaillancourt’s prison sentence due to an upcoming surgery. The court said the corrections department has a legal obligation to medically care for incarcerated individuals and that the department is equipped to do so.
Vaillancourt was led out of the courtroom by a sheriff’s deputy as Harper’s family and friends — dressed in a combination of black and dark pink — subtly cheered at her departure.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Former child care provider gets 3-10 years in prison for fatally medicating infant .