Florida Mother Brenda Sullivan Sentenced to 20 Years for Keeping 17-Year-Old Son Locked in Cage

Brenda Sullivan was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated child abuse in January.

The charges were filed in 2005 after child welfare workers found Sullivan’s 17-year-old adopted son locked in a cage inside the family’s house. Sullivan was accused of child neglect but that charge had been dropped despite her son weighing just 49 pounds.

Sullivan and her husband had also adopted twins and the 13-year-olds had testified they were kept in similar cages. Sullivan’s husband died while awaiting trial.