Prosecutors don't often go after illegal day care operators. The maximum $200 fine simply isn't worth the effort, some people say.

But after a spate of child care deaths in Jackson County, prosecutors acted.

This time — armed with a rarely used statute — they pushed the courts for a tougher action against one illegal provider. 

But in the end, that statute could not stop her from caring for children. 

Two-month-old Kaden Danuser was among four children to die in unlicensed child care centers in Jackson County in an eight-month period ending in January. Two deaths, including Kaden's, occurred where caregivers were watching too many children without a license and allegedly had lied to parents about having one. 

Shortly after Kaden accidentally suffocated while napping in a car seat in 2010, police grew suspicious of his Lee's Summit child care provider, Maria D'Anna.

Police said D'Anna at first insisted Kaden's older brother was the only other child in her residence. But then another young child came into view. Downstairs, police reported finding two other children. Then D'Anna's teenage daughter refused to allow police into another room, claiming it was her bedroom.

Police said that when they persuaded her to open the door, they found five more children, ages 2 to 4.

D'Anna not only was caring for too many children, prosecutors said, she tried to conceal them during a death investigation. Authorities later alleged that D'Anna had lied to Kaden's parents about being licensed.

In January, D'Anna pleaded guilty of making false statements regarding a license. Prosecutors then went a step further. Using a vague Missouri child protection law, they took her to civil court. Arguing her "knowing violation places children at an increased risk of neglect, possible abuse or even death," they asked a judge to immediately require D'Anna  to "cease operating a child care facility." 

The law had not been applied to an unlicensed provider in a decade.

D'Anna, through an attorney, declined to be interviewed for this story.

"My client is very sad regarding this unfortunate death of a child, but she didn't do anything wrong and was not at fault," said attorney Michael McCausland, who is representing D'Anna in a wrongful death suit filed by Kaden's parents, Joey and Danny Danuser. Citing the pending lawsuit, the Danusers also declined to comment.

In Missouri, state regulators have the legal right to shut down licensed child care facilities they consider to be dangerous to children or to put caregivers on probation. But when it comes to unlicensed day cares -- even illegal ones -- the law is not so clear.

Lawyers familiar with D'Anna's case say the law does not adequately define whether unlicensed providers fall under the legal definition of a child care facility. 

The law gives the court the right to keep a facility closed until it is in compliance with state laws. But with illegal providers, complying can be as simple as reducing the number of children in care.

Court orders based on this subsection are prime for appeal, the lawyers said.

In December, and again in February, a Jackson County judge ordered that D'Anna cease from operating a child care facility. But the judge used the narrow state definition of child care facility, one that allowed her to continue operating with four or fewer children. 

The judge also opened the door for the state to have limited authority to monitor her for compliance of the enrollment limit.

Contacted by phone, another one of D'Anna's attorneys, Lance LeFevre, said the court action never legally deterred her from caring for children. 

"All it said all along was follow the law, comply with the law," he said, adding that his client told the court in August she would no longer care for children.

Prosecutors in a similar case in St. Louis County tried to use the same law in August against Alva Roberts. She was found to be operating an illegal day care after Tyler Brody accidentally suffocated in her care in 2010. 

Initially a judge agreed to a request from prosecutors to stop Roberts from caring for children.

But within days prosecutors backed off. The Brodys said prosecutors told them the law could not be used to stop Roberts. 

Roberts continues to care for children.

Her attorney, Gerard Diekman, said prosecutors clearly misunderstood the statute and what it could do. It simply has no bearing on his client.

"It only means she can't watch more than four children without a proper license," he said. "The order did not say you cannot baby-sit a child or you cannot watch children for pay. It only says you cannot operate a child care facility."