A Jacksonville woman who a judge said caged three of her adopted children like animals was sentenced to 20 years in prison today after two of the children testified about their treatment.
Sullivan
Brenda M. Sullivan, 51, pleaded guilty in January to three counts of aggravated child abuse. She had claimed that a cage-like contraption she kept her 49-pound, 17-year-old mentally disabled son in was prescribed by a doctor, but he testified that he prescribed the crib when the boy was 7 and it never had a slatted wood covering.
Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper heard from two other children, both 13, who testified today that they were kept in similar cages. Cooper ordered Sullivan hidden behind a screen while the children testified so they didnt have to see her.
Sullivans husband, Wilson Sullivan, also was charged in the case but died before it was resolved.