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A Minot woman has entered a guilty plea to a charge of operating an unlicensed daycare at which a 15-month-old child died in September of last year.
Joyell Marks Johnson, 48, Minot, pleaded guilty to one of the two charges, while the other was dismissed. Marks Johnson entered her plea without appearing in court before North Central District Judge Douglas Mattson but admitted to illegally operating her daycare, Marked with Joy, after her license had been revoked.
Mattson accepted the plea deal and issued a sentence Wednesday that did not include any jail time or probation but assessed $1,750 in court fines and fees. Mattson also ordered that any evidence in the case be disposed of or returned to Marks Johnson within 61 days.
According to articles published by The Minot Daily News in 2020, Marks Johnson's license had been suspended and revoked after she was charged with two counts of Class C felony child abuse, stemming from allegations made by two foster children in her care. The charges were eventually dismissed after Marks Johnson fulfilled the requirements of a pre-trial diversion agreement. It is unknown if Marks Johnson had attempted to regain her license to operate her daycare after the charges were dismissed.
Marks Johnson was not charged in relation to the child's death. A statement provided to The Minot Daily News by the child's family identified the child as Shalom Ishimwe-Williams. The family shared the cause of death listed on his death certificate as myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart brought on by viral infection.