VELVA A plea deal appears to be in the works for a McHenry County social worker who is accused of falsifying a daycare license renewal following the drowning of a child.

Cheryl Ann Johnson, 60, Towner, is charged with tampering with public records, a Class C felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. She is also charged with two Class A misdemeanors, public servant refusing to perform duty and false reports to law enforcement or other security officials.

Court records show that her lawyer, Lloyd Suhr, has submitted a proposed order accepting a plea agreement and deferring imposition of sentence to the court, while prosecutor Kathleen Murray has submitted a statement in support of the plea agreement. Both documents were submitted to the district court on Sept. 16. A court clerk said that Judge Laurie Fontaine has not yet reviewed or signed off on the plea deal.

Johnson was among at least seven people charged in connection with the case.

Five-year-old Gracelyn Aschenbrenner drowned at a swimming pool in Velva on June 8, 2015 and died from her injuries in a Fargo hospital on July 1, 2015. The girl was one of 17 children taken to the swimming pool on June 8 by KidsQuarters Daycare. Law enforcement officers later discovered that the facility’s license had expired on June 1 of that year.

According to court documents, Johnson is accused of asking the North Dakota Department of Human Services to back date the daycare’s license to June 2, 2015 and also of adjusting the number of children permitted to be cared for by the facility. When she submitted the renewal application to the North Dakota Department of Human Services in late June 2015, she indicated there were no reports of abuse or neglect for the daycare, even though the facility was being investigated following the drowning accident. Johnson also indicated the maximum number of children allowed at the facility was 30, more than the five that are allowed for an unlicensed childcare provider. Johnson also is accused of providing false information to North Dakota BCI Investigator Craig Zachmeier.

The daycare operator, Heather Tudor, pleaded guilty in March to one count of Class C felony child neglect and one count of operating a child care facility without a license. She was sentenced to three years probation and a suspended jail sentence of one year and one day.

Plea deals are also pending for some of the other social services officials charged in the case.

Andrea Johnson