Church-run day-care center innocent of death

Church-run day-care center innocent of death

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida judge has found a church-run day-care center in Daytona Beach innocent of the accidental death of a toddler who was left inside a van two years ago.

Circuit Judge S. James Foxman acquitted the now-defunct Abundant Life Academy of Learning of aggravated manslaughter in the death of Zaniyah Hinson, the Associated Press reported. The child was left inside a van on a hot afternoon for more than two hours during a field trip in August 2001.

Marcus Triplett, president of Abundant Life and its umbrella corporation, Abundant Life Ministries, faced the possibility of a $10,000 fine. The ministries include the River of Abundant Life Church, a congregation affiliated with the Assemblies of God.

A Christian educational association ordered that the day-care center be closed two months after Zaniyah’s death.