03/21/2000
Olson, Dave

Woman gets 4-year term in baby-shaking case

By Dave Olson
A Moorhead woman who admitted shaking a baby left in her care last summer was
sentenced Monday to four years in prison.
Brenda J. Rousseau, 31, 408 Elm St. S., pleaded guilty in January in Clay
County District Court to a charge of malicious punishment of a child causing
great bodily harm.
She admitted in court that she shook and dropped a 7-month-old girl June 8.
Rousseau was a day-care provider at the time.
According to court documents, Rousseau told investigators she "snapped'' and
shook the child in frustration. After realizing she had hurt the girl, she
panicked and dropped the child on her head.
Monday she was sentenced by Judge William Walker to four years in prison. In
Minnesota inmates may be released for good behavior after serving two-thirds
of their sentence.
Assistant Clay County Attorney Chris Myers asked for eight years -- double the
state sentencing guideline -- arguing that the victim in the case "is about as
vulnerable as you can get as a human being."
According to court documents, the infant suffered a number of injuries,
including a fractured skull, neurological trauma, seizures and impaired
vision.
Myers said Monday that some of the injuries likely will be permanent and the
child's mother stated that her daughter's brain is developing on only one
side, causing her to learn things much more slowly than other children her
age.
Rousseau said in court Monday that she has been diagnosed with bipolar
disorder and unless she receives medication she is prone to irritability and
episodes of extreme emotion.
Rousseau also told the court that since the incident she has contemplated
suicide and the only thing that stopped her was concern for how her death
would affect her own three children.
In a tearful statement she told the victim's mother, "I'm very, very sorry for
what I did. I shook her and I'm so sorry.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself, so I don't expect you to."
Rousseau's attorney, Larry Mickelberg, asked Walker to consider a sentence
that would have resulted in a year in jail, payment of restitution and
psychological evaluations and treatment.
Mickelberg said that except for some traffic violations a decade ago,
Rousseau's record was clean.
He also called several women to the stand whose children had been cared for by
Rousseau. The women said they had never known Rousseau to be violent and
expressed confidence in her ability not to reoffend.
"Some days I think I have the hardest job in the world and this is one of
them," Walker said before imposing a sentence that followed state guidelines
for the prison term.
Walker also ordered Rousseau to pay restitution of $255 to the victim's family
and $1,192 to the state reparations board.
Rousseau was ordered to undergo psychological evaluations and to follow
recommended treatment.