A former Bronx, New York daycare owner has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after a toddler died in her care from ingesting fentanyl in September 2023.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced on Monday that Grei Mendez pleaded guilty in October to charges including conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.
The charges stem from the death of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici, who was exposed to fentanyl at the daycare.
Three other children also suffered serious injuries and had to be hospitalized after authorities found two 2-year-old boys and an 8-month-old girl, who were unresponsive, in the basement of the Bronx daycare facility.
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The mother of Dominici, Zoila Dominici, confronted Mendez in court and “she’d never forgive her” for what she let happen to her son, the New York Post reported.
“It is not possible to forgive something like this. Forty-five years is not enough,” Dominici said during an emotional testimony.
“I do not forgive you. Let God forgive you,” Dominici continued.
During pre-sentencing, it was revealed in a court filing that Mendez had Narcan kits at the daycare, but did not attempt to revive the children, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District.
“She had the key to helping these children, and she didn’t use it,” Maggie Lynaugh, a federal prosecutor, said in court Monday.
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When first responders arrived, Mendez failed to mention that the kids could be suffering from an opioid overdose, the complaint read.
“Grei Mendez operated a daycare out of a basement apartment in the Bronx in which large quantities of deadly fentanyl were mixed, packaged, and stored,” Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.
“She put babies as young as eight months old directly in harm’s way as they slept, played, and ate in a room where over 11 kilograms of fentanyl was hidden underneath their feet, leading to the death of one child and the poisoning of others.”
According to the complaint, the indictment, and other documents, from around June 2022 through September 2023, Mendez and others conspired to distribute narcotics out of Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx.
Officials said Mendez and her co-conspirators maintained more than 11 kilograms of fentanyl and heroin in secret compartments, or traps, located underneath the floor tiles in the playroom of the daycare.
The outlet reported that Dominici burst into tears in the courtroom as prosecutors recalled her son’s final moments.
When asked to address the court, Otoniel Feliz, Dominici’s husband, said, “She let my only son die. She didn’t do anything.”
“We didn’t just lose Nicholas. We lost our life,” Feliz added.
The outlet reported that Mendez told the court that “it was never my intention” for the children to be poisoned.
“I do want all to know it was an accident,” Mendez said, while using a Spanish interpreter.
She then claimed to “know the suffering” that the Dominici’s were feeling, as she is a mother herself and is being locked away from four children of her own.
“Believe me, this has left me traumatized,” Mendez said. “I cannot erase this from my mind.”
One of the conspirators, Mendez’s husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, was arrested in September 2023 in Sinaloa, where Mexico’s Sinaloa drug trafficking cartel, once run by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is based.
The other conspirators arrested included 38-year-old Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, also known as “El Gallo,” and Mendez’s neighbor, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, who were both charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.
Brito, like Mendez, was also charged with narcotics distribution resulting in death.
“No punishment can make up for a child lost, but today’s sentence sends the message that this Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to bring to justice anyone who uses children as a shield in the drug trade,” Podolsky said.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.