Vancouver daycare operator pleads guilty in Baby Mac tragedy

The operator of the unlicensed daycare in East Vancouver where a toddler known as Baby Mac died five years ago has pleaded guilty to a single criminal charge, CTV News has learned.

The B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed Monday that Susy Yasmine Saad pleaded guilty to failing to provide necessaries of life to nine children, including Macallan Saini.

The names of the other children are all subject to a publication ban, a BCPS spokesperson said.

Baby Mac was 16 months old when he died at the Olive Branch Family Daycare on Kitchener Street on Jan. 18, 2017.

Officers who responded to a 911 call at the property found Saad caring for five children under the age of 18 months, according to a police report on the incident. Under B.C. law, unlicensed childcare providers are only allowed to care for a maximum of two children, other than their own, with few exceptions.

A previous CTV News investigation uncovered that health inspectors had determined Saad broke the law by having too many children in her care on four separate occasions.

After learning about her history, Baby Mac's parents, who have filed a civil lawsuit against Saad, said they felt "almost physical sickness."

"I'm just so mad," the toddler's father Chris Saini told CTV News at the time. "The system failed us. They failed my son."

Saad was initially charged with two counts of failing to provide necessaries of life and one count of fraud over $5,000 in connection with the Saini case.

Her case has been adjourned until next month, when the court is expected to schedule a sentencing date.

With files from David Molko