OSHAWA, Ontario (AP) - A Canadian couple who pleaded guilty to charges they beat and sometimes put their two adopted sons in a cage were sentenced Monday to nine months in jail.
The sentencing judge said the stepparents behavior was cruel, demeaning and damaging.
"Both accused share equal responsibility as parents," Judge Donald Halikowski said. "Both failed."
The couple, who pleaded guilty in January and had been free on bail, were jailed after the sentencing.
The boys were toddlers when they were taken in by the couple, their aunt and uncle.
The woman, 43, and man, 51, pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and failure to provide the necessities of life. They cannot be named to protect the identities of the boys, now 17 and 18.
The boys were taken from their home in Blackstock three years ago after a tip from a relative.
Investigators who visited the ramshackle, two-story farmhouse, said one boy was found in a makeshift cage that was strapped to a wall and padlocked.
Although they were allowed to go school, officials said the boys were often tied to their beds and sometimes handcuffed and beaten. They were also not allowed to use the toilet and forced to wear diapers.
The sentencing judge said the stepparents behavior was cruel, demeaning and damaging.
"Both accused share equal responsibility as parents," Judge Donald Halikowski said. "Both failed."
The couple, who pleaded guilty in January and had been free on bail, were jailed after the sentencing.
The boys were toddlers when they were taken in by the couple, their aunt and uncle.
The woman, 43, and man, 51, pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and failure to provide the necessities of life. They cannot be named to protect the identities of the boys, now 17 and 18.
The boys were taken from their home in Blackstock three years ago after a tip from a relative.
Investigators who visited the ramshackle, two-story farmhouse, said one boy was found in a makeshift cage that was strapped to a wall and padlocked.
Although they were allowed to go school, officials said the boys were often tied to their beds and sometimes handcuffed and beaten. They were also not allowed to use the toilet and forced to wear diapers.
"... failure to provide the necessities of life."
I wonder what necessities of life they forgot.
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