A Champlin woman will be spending the next few years in prison for an assault that severely injured a 6-month-old baby who was under her supervision at a home day care.

In October of last year, Michelle Maree Holte, 59, was charged with one count of first-degree assault, to which she later pleaded guilty.

On Friday morning, Holte was sentenced to serve 91 months in prison, a little over seven and a half-years, for the assault that left baby Nolan severely injured.

Court records say some of Nolan’s skull was removed to relieve brain swelling, and some of the injuries will likely have long-term medical consequences. He was placed in a medically induced coma after doctors found he had a subdural hemorrhage, severe brain injury and retinal hemorrhages.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporter Eric Chaloux attended Holte’s sentencing, which lasted over two hours.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare, and has been the absolute worst seven months of our lives,” Nolan’s mother, Lisa Sapp, said on Friday.

The criminal complaint states that when his parents picked Nolan up from Holte’s day care on Oct. 18, the baby’s eyes were turned to the left and then closed on the way home. When removing the baby from the car seat, they discovered his “eyes were bouncing while still veering left” along with flexed limbs that “did not feel normal.”

When Nolan’s mother called Holte to ask what happened, Holte told her that another child at the day care had dropped her baby. The doctor treating the baby told police Holte’s story didn’t match the severity of the child’s injuries.

“What she did was about as close to a murder as we could see. I’m honestly stunned that Nolan survived,” Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Dan Allard said.

Investigators say Holte repeated the claim that another child dropped the baby when they questioned her, leading police to question that child.

During the interview, court records say the child told police that Holte was “rough” with the baby and a doll was used to show what the child witnessed. The child “took the doll to eye level and dropped the doll on the table in front of her,” according to the complaint.

In another interview, Holte then admitted to tossing the baby, saying that she put him down “a little harder than normal.” Holte said she then noticed the baby was not focusing and had slanted eyes. She also recalled feeling “overwhelmed and frustrated” and that she hit “a breaking point, in a bad way” after doing child care for so long.

Court records also include a statement from the baby’s doctor, who said, “The mechanism of injury, of a forceful slamming, reported by the daycare provider, could explain [Victim’s] presentation with subdural hemorrhage, severe brain injury, and retinal hemorrhages. It is notable that he was reported to have been symptomatic immediately afterwards, which is also consistent with a severe traumatic event.”

“I want to express my deepest remorse and sincere apologies … upon my actions,” Holte said.

Several of her family and friends, as well as her pastor, also asked the judge for mercy.

Judge Jay Quam ultimately said he didn’t feel the act was malicious and noted he couldn’t change what happened.

“I can’t give you justice. Justice is somehow rewinding this and preventing it from happening,” Quam told Nolan’s family.

“The pain and impact of Ms. Holte’s actions are immeasurable and no sentence can fully restore the suffering and future challenges Nolan and our family face,” a family spokesperson said.

His loved ones now hold onto the little moments, including a recent smile and giggle.

A GoFundMe has been created to help the family.