A Douglas County woman was sentenced to prison for locking a 6-year-old boy with mental issues in a dog cage as punishment, the district attorney’s office said Wednesday.
Sarah Elizabeth McClain, 30, of Douglasville, and a co-defendant also poured syrup and cat litter over the caged child, known to have psychological issues with all things sticky, the DA said. The boy was also beaten as he held bricks with his arms stretched out, according to investigators.
McClain and the boy's mother, Crystal Jean Hostetter, 25, were both arrested in April and the child was placed in foster care, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. On Tuesday, McClain was convicted of cruelty to children charges and sentenced to 20 years, including 10 to serve in prison.
Calling it among the most inhumane form of punishments the court had seen, Judge William H. McClain denied first offender treatment for McClain, the DA’s office said.
Hostetter’s trial is pending. She remained Wednesday night in the Douglas County jail.
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