Owners of daycare where 2-year-old died guilty of operating illegally

The owners of the Vaughan daycare where a two-year-old girl died were found guilty Thursday of breaking provincial law in what the Crown called the worst run child-care centre that government inspectors had ever seen.

RuslanPanfilova,47,his wifeOlena Panfilova, 50,andherdaughter Karyna Rabadanova, 26,were found guiltyofoperating anillegal child-care centreby a justice of the peace in a Newmarket court.

EvaRavikovichdied in July 2013 at the daycare the trioran intwo adjoining houses onYellowoodCircle in Vaughan.

Testimony revealed that on the day the little girl died,there were 27 other children and 14 dogs at the daycare, and just three adults supervising. Officials found "filthy" cribs with holes in them,dirty diapers in the kitchen andfermenting food in the fridge.

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Eight months before the girl'sdeath, education ministry officials warned the ownersthey had to get a licence to continue operating,but did not shut the daycare down until after she died.

The Crown is seeking jail sentences for the trio in the range of three to sixmonths. Crown lawyer Abel Fok calledthe family's conduct "egregious and unacceptable" and saidthe daycare was the worst that ministry officials had ever seen.

Defence lawyer Joseph Forget asked for no jail time, and a fine of $10,000 to$20,000.

The maximum sentence for the offence isone year in jail. The maximum fine is $2,000 a day, and with the daycare operating illegally for 126 days after the ministry warning, the fine could be as high as $252,000.

Court heard the family declared annual revenues from the daycare of about$200,000 and has sincehas sold the two adjacent houses they were using for the business.

The mother of a child at the daycare, ChristinaKouydlai, testified during the sentencing hearingthat she pulled herdaughterin January 2013 after discoveringOlenaPanfilovadrunk.

Rabadanova andOlenaPanfilovawere about an hour late for their court date and werenot in the courtroom to hear the guilty verdict, although RuslanPanfilovawas there. The justice of the peace deferred sentencing to a later date

The two womenare also facing criminal charges of obstructing police and destroying evidence in an ongoing investigation.

The Education Ministry fired twochild-care inspectorsafter it emerged officialsfailed to investigatecomplaints against the daycare before the little girl died.

Immediately after her death, a York Regionhealth inspector foundspoiled food in the daycare fridge,some of which tested positive for listeria.

Ravikovich's parents are suing the Panfilovas and the province.