Attorney General’s Office and Stevens County Attorney’s Office secure conviction for felony child endangerment

Crystal Rose Searle pleads guilty to child endangerment causing substantial harm following March 14, 2022, brain injury to infant

December 2, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Yesterday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office secured the conviction of Crystal Rose Searle on one count of child endangerment resulting in substantial harm, following a March 14, 2022, brain injury to an infant in Donnelly, Minnesota.

Searle provided childcare at her residence in Stevens County.  On March 14, 2022, Searle noticed that a two-month-old infant she was babysitting needed emergency medical care. Rather than call 911, Searle waited 45 minutes until the infant’s mother picked him up. The infant’s mother immediately took the child to the emergency room, where doctors found he had increased cranial pressure and a subdural hematoma that required a craniotomy (brain surgery). The infant survived but spent weeks in intensive care.

Attorney General Ellison’s office prosecuted Searle upon a referral from former Stevens County Attorney Aaron Jordan under Minnesota Statutes section 8.01, which provides, “Upon request of the county attorney, the attorney general shall appear in court in such criminal cases as the attorney general deems proper.” The authority vested in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is primarily civil.  Aside from referrals submitted under section 8.01 and Medicaid fraud, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office does not have prosecuting authority over most criminal acts. That authority generally rests with city and county attorneys.

“What happened in this case is every parent’s worst nightmare,” said Attorney General Ellison. “When you leave your child with a caretaker, that caretaker has a responsibility to get that child emergency medical care when needed. Searle failed to do so, and yesterday, she faced justice for that. I am committed to doing everything in my power to protecting young people throughout Minnesota.”

Attorney General Ellison thanks the Stevens County Sherriff’s Office, who assisted in the investigation and successful prosecution of this crime.