The Iowa Supreme Court has affirmed the October 2018 conviction of a Fort Dodge day care employee who strangled a 4-year-old.

Shanna Dessinger, 40, was convicted of child endangerment, an aggravated misdemeanor, in October 2018 by a Webster County jury. She was sentenced to an 11-month suspended jail sentenced and $843 in restitution. The Fort Dodge woman served 30 days in county jail over the course of four months, followed by a year of informal probation.

The child survived the incident.

Dessinger denied any wrongdoing in the May 2018 incident and contended that the child was struggling to get an apron off while cleaning up after play time. She said that in trying to help him, she stumbled, but did not squeeze his neck.

Another day care worker testified to witnessing Dessinger strangle the 4-year-old.

Dessinger filed an appeal to her conviction on grounds that hearsay from the child was improperly admitted, her rights to confront her accuser were violated, her attorneys were ineffective and the court failed to make an ability-to-pay determination before imposing court costs.

In 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed Dessinger’s conviction, but upheld the appeal regarding the court costs, remanding the fines for adjustment.

Dessinger further appealed the conviction to the Iowa Supreme Court, which affirmed it in a 27-page-ruling on Friday. The Supreme Court also affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision about the restitution issues and remanded the case to the District Court to provide Dessinger the opportunity to obtain a determination of her ability to pay restitution.