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No jail time for N.H. daycare worker who drugged children with melatonin
The prosecutor cites a “blind spot” in state law that allows minimal sentencing.
A New Hampshire daycare worker charged with secretly drugging children with melatonin at her in-home center will serve no jail time — a sentencing decision Monday that has sparked concerns over gaps in the state’s child protection laws.
According to court documents, Sally Dreckmann, 53, pleaded guilty in Hillsborough North Superior Court to falsifying physical evidence and reckless conduct.
Judge Amy Messer sentenced Dreckmann to have no direct or indirect contact with any of the child victims or families and to have no unsupervised contact with people under 18 years old, except for family.
Dreckmann will not be allowed to be employed or operate any form of licensed or unlicensed daycare.
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The judge also ordered payment of any restitution for documented medical expenses or losses incurred by the victims, and that Dreckmann perform 100 hours of community service.
Messer did not sentence Dreckmann to any prison time.
According to court documents, the sentencing agreement included a three-and-a-half- to seven-year prison sentence for falsifying physical evidence, and a two- to five-year sentence for reckless conduct, both of which were suspended for 10 years.
Boston.com could not reach Dreckmann’s attorney for comment.
In a phone interview, prosecutor Shawn Sweeney said the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office is working to get legislation passed through the New Hampshire legislature to make endangering child welfare a felony offense in some circumstances.
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“It’s like a blind spot in the law that makes it so in certain circumstances, like in the Sally Dreckmann case, we have to take statutes that may not fit quite right and try to make it fit,” Sweeney said.
Legislators voted the bill down in May.
According to the Union Leader, there were concerns over its vague wording, which could lead to the prosecution of parents for common activities that result in minor injuries, rather than focusing on true cases of endangerment.
However, Sweeney said when the law isn’t strong enough, it results in lighter sentences.
“Without the law to back us up, we get what we get,” Sweeney said.
The court initially indicted Dreckmann on more than 30 charges, including endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault, a second-degree assault of strangulation, and destroying or falsifying physical evidence.
According to the initial Manchester, New Hampshire, release, a detective received a report alleging unsafe practices at the Amory Street in-home daycare in November 2023, which resulted in a lengthy investigation.
Police found that employees were sprinkling melatonin — a dietary supplement used to treat certain sleep disorders, like insomnia — into children’s food without parental knowledge or consent.
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Police issued arrest warrants for Dreckmann and three other employees in May 2024.
In the end, Sweeney said, “Sentencing doesn’t fix what happened to their children.”
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