Ohio mother who padlocked 7-year-old daughter in dog cage gets 3 years in prison
01/12/2021 12:57 pm PST
via WJW:
CANTON, Ohio (WJW/AP) -- A woman who padlocked her 7-year-old daughter in a dog cage in the basement of an Ohio home has been sentenced to three years in prison.
A judge imposed the sentence Monday after 29-year-old Lillian Cottrell, of Canton, pleaded guilty to child endangerment.
Cottrell's 30-year-old boyfriend, Derek Mayle, faces the same charge and is scheduled to stand trial in March.
Stark County prosecutors have said the couple tortured the girl over the course of seven months last year and kept her padlocked in the cage at times as punishment. When she was removed from the home by child welfare officials, she weighed 28 pounds.
The Canton Repository reports a friend of the girl's family has gained custody and intends to adopt the child, the Stark County Assistant Prosecutor said following Monday's hearing.
In August 2019, Child Protective Services contacted Canton Police about three children in a home they believed were being abused. Two other children were removed from the home after the girl was rescued. Police do not believe the other children suffered similar punishment.
