Mom who caged teen son gets 20 years behind bars
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mom who caged teen son gets 20 years behind bars*
* Story Highlights
* Brenda Sullivan pleaded guilty in January to three counts of
aggravated child abuse
* The teen weighed 49 pounds when child welfare workers found him in
2005
* Two other children the Sullivans adopted testified they were kept
in similar cages
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- A mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison
Thursday for keeping her 17-year-old adopted son caged in her home.
Brenda Sullivan, accused of caging her 17-year-old son, pleaded guilty
to three counts of aggravated child abuse.
Brenda Sullivan pleaded guilty in January to three counts of aggravated
child abuse. Prosecutors agreed to drop lesser child neglect charges.
The teen weighed 49 pounds when child welfare workers found him in 2005
in what appeared to be a cage. Sullivan told a judge at the time that
Ohio authorities told her to keep the boy, who had severe medical and
emotional problems, in a crib.
"There's only one conclusion when you look at the medical evidence in
this case, and that is that she literally starved him," prosecutor Julie
Schlax said.
Two other children, 13-year-old twins the Sullivans adopted as infants,
both testified they were kept in similar cages.
Sullivan's husband was also arrested, but died in January 2007 while
awaiting trial.
Sullivan's lawyer, Charles Fletcher, said he didn't think prison was the
right option because she does not pose a threat to society. He said they
would appeal the sentence.