- Leslie Ann Percell, 53, received two years on probation for reckless endangerment of a child.
- Percell admitted in a plea agreement to endangering a 4-month-old boy while she was babysitting him.
- The child suffered brain bleeds and a fractured skull in December 2023.
SALT LAKE CITY — A West Jordan woman was ordered Monday to serve two years' probation after admitting to endangering an infant she was babysitting in what prosecutors said was an unlicensed day care.
Leslie Ann Percell, 53, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment on July 21, a charge that was reduced to a class A misdemeanor as part of a plea deal. She was initially charged with three counts of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony, but each was reduced or dismissed in the plea.
She was also sentenced to 30 days in jail, with credit given for the 21 days she had previously served. As part of her probation, the court ordered Percell to obtain a mental health, anger management and substance abuse evaluation and complete any recommended treatment.
In her statement supporting the plea, Percell admitted to creating a substantial risk of death or serious injury to a 4-month-old boy she was babysitting on Dec. 7, 2023.
Charging documents state that the boy was admitted to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City after he was brought there for evaluation because he was vomiting and had a large bruise when he was picked up from Purcell's day care. The infant was hospitalized for three days, and doctors found two brain bleeds, a fractured skull and more bruising, according to charges.
"Doctors concluded that the collection of injuries displayed by the victim is consistent with abusive head trauma," charges stated.
The infant's mother stated that her son had been "whining and acting off" and ended up throwing up after she picked him up from Percell's care a little more than a month prior, as well, according to charges. When the boy was admitted to the hospital that December, the doctor also found "old injuries that were partially healed," the charges state.
According to prosecutors, Percell regularly watched the infant. She denied anything happening to the boy at her home when she was arrested a month after the boy's hospitalization.
As part of the plea agreement, attorneys on both sides agreed not to recommend jail time for Percell.
