A Minnesota couple who locked their four children in cages for "their safety" have been sentenced to four years in prison.
In June 2023, Benjamin Taylor Cotton, 42, and Christina Ann Cotton were hit with 16 counts of charges, including child torture, endangerment, neglect, and malicious punishment, reported ABC 5-KSTP. The couple each pled guilty to one count of child torture as part of a plea agreement.
The investigation began after a report was made to Goodhue County Health and Human Services. According to court documents, the call alleged the children were being neglected and kept locked in cages, the TV station reported.
When an investigator and social worker arrived at the home the following morning, Christina Cotton became upset when told about the report and said that the children were "locked up for their safety," ABC 5-KSTP reported.
The investigators found a nearly 3-year-old trapped in a playpen that was covered by a dog gate to prevent escape. A bunk bed had been transformed into a cage with a "homemade wooden door." Inside on the bottom bunk, investigators found a 5-year-old and a 7-seven-year-old, according to CBS News.
Inside the bunk bed cage was a mattress, blankets, and a "puke bowl," according to Honk News.
A 9-year-old in a basement bedroom was found free of any confinement, CBS reported.
The children were removed from the home and evaluated. They had bruises, according to CBS, and the youngest child was wearing a diaper that was duct-taped to the child. One child told authorities that they reported being struck by a belt over chores not being completed and that sometimes they had their hands tied behind their backs with duct tape.
