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A Minot woman charged with operating a daycare after her license was revoked has pleaded not guilty in North Central District Court.
Joyell Marks-Johnson, 48, Minot, appeared before Judge Douglas Mattson on Tuesday morning and initially indicated she was prepared to plead guilty to the two charges of providing early childhood services after license denied or revoked, a Class B misdemeanor. However, Marks-Johnson was given further time to review the complaint and affidavits of probable cause filed in support of the charges and elected to enter a plea of not guilty.
According to court records, Marks-Johnson was arrested after an investigation into the unattended death of a 15-month-old child at her residence, where she was allegedly operating an unlicensed daycare. Investigators turned to a Ward County social worker, who confirmed that Marks-Johnson had previously operated as a daycare provider under the name "Marked for Joy," but her license had been revoked after an incident in 2020. The second charge was brought after law enforcement arrived at Marks-Johnson's residence to arrest her and found four non-family children under her care.
Representatives for the Ward County Human Service Zone provided no comment regarding the 2020 incident mentioned in the affidavit, nor do public court records currently show any closed or pending matters related to them.
However, newspaper articles published previously show Marks-Johnson, then known as Joyell Marks, had been charged with two counts of Class C felony child abuse after allegations were made by two foster children who had been living with her. A pre-trial diversion agreement had been accepted in which Marks-Johnson was allowed to maintain her innocence to the charges and have the charges dismissed as long she complied with all conditions and obtained a mental health evaluation. It is unknown if Marks-Johnson had sought to regain her license to operate the daycare after the charges were dismissed.
Deputy State's Attorney Tiffany Sorgen asked the court for a $1,000 unsecured bond with the requirement that Marks-Johnson not provide childcare for anyone unrelated to her on a self-employed basis. Sorgen clarified the conditions for the court, saying the state couldn't simply file a cease and desist against her because Marks-Johnson is unlicensed.
Marks-Johnson accepted the conditions, saying she had no intention of providing care for young children going forward. Marks-Johnson indicated she would be applying for a public defender. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 20.