San Diego

A Mira Mesa man who once operated a day-care center with his mother pleaded guilty Friday to a child-abuse charge rather than face a retrial.

The plea came from Harold Dyson, 26, who will be sentenced Oct. 17 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Anthony Joseph. The charge involved an injury to a 12-year-old boy.

Dyson’s mother, Henri Dyson, 43, was sentenced on Aug. 19 to four years in state prison for her conviction on one count of child abuse.

The jury deadlocked July 8 on some of the charges against both operators, and both had been scheduled to go on trial a second time on the remaining charges.

With the son’s guilty plea, the remaining counts against Henri Dyson were also dismissed Friday.

Harold Dyson will not face more than one year in County Jail as a result of the plea bargain and could receive a lesser sentence.

The child-abuse charge for which the jury convicted Henri Dyson involved an incident in January, 1989, when a 17-month-old boy was rushed to a hospital after receiving a cold-water enema at Dyson’s home.

The boy went into convulsions from hypothermia. The incident started an investigation of the day care center.

The jury acquitted both of them on five counts of child abuse after a two-month trial. After deliberating eight days, the jury deadlocked, 11 to 1, for conviction on three counts.

Henri Dyson’s attorney asked Joseph to allow his client to remain free while she appeals her conviction, but he denied the request. Harold Dyson remains free on his own recognizance.