A West Penn Township mother told a judge she attempted to drown her month-old baby in October 2015 during an "episode of severe mental illness."

Rachel M. Foose, 33, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child, and was sentenced to five years of probation by Schuylkill County Judge John E. Domalakes.He ordered her to continue to receive mental health treatment "to avoid incidents like this in the future," and did not forbid her from having her now 14-month-old for visits.Foose's lawyer, Sudhir R. Patel, said that his client was no longer a threat to herself or others.Foose could have faced up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, Domalakes said.The endangering charge was reduced from a felony 3 to a misdemeanor, and charges of attempted first-degree murder, attempted third-degree murder, aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person were dropped.Assistant District Attorney Debra A. Smith agreed to the terms.According to court documents and testimony, the paternal grandmother, Charlene Belzner of Andreas, stopped township Police Chief Brian Johnson as he was leaving the station on Oct. 23, 2015, to tell him Foose had tried to drown the baby.Foose was sitting on her front porch when Johnson arrived at her home on Golf Road."I tried to drown my baby," she told him. "I filled the tub up with water and tried to drown my baby."Foose told Johnson, "I just can't deal with it," according to the court documents and testimony.Mark Foose told police that when he returned from a trip to a drugstore for formula his wife was standing in the living room holding the infant.She handed him the baby and told him she just tried to drown her, and that he should call 911.Mark Foose said the baby was soaked and the bathtub was full, according to the court documents and testimony.West Penn Ambulance paramedics examined the baby and determined that she was breathing and behaving normally.The baby was then was taken to St. Luke's Hospital-Miners Campus in Coaldale for further examination.Belzner said Rachel Foose's mother called her to say that Rachel tried to kill the baby.Belzner said when she went to the house, she found Rachel Foose standing in the driveway. Rachel told her she had held the baby's head under the water in the bathtub.Belzner said Rachel Foose told her that the Children and Youth Services Agency was going to take the baby from her, so she tried to kill her.