LOCAL

Mother in Lansing 'dungeon' case pleads guilty to child abuse charge

Ken Palmer
Lansing State Journal

LANSING - One of the two parents accused of abusing their five children by locking them in a bedroom and whipping them for punishment over a period of years pleaded guilty to a child-abuse charge on Tuesday.

Sarah Conde, shown here during a hearing in 54A District Court  on Friday, Sept. 14, 2018.

Sarah Conde, 29, cried quietly she answered questions from Ingham County Circuit Judge Clinton Canady III, admitting she denied dental care for her children. all of whom had some type of dental disease.

Conde pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree child abuse involving all five children. In exchange, the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office will drop 12 other counts, including first- and second-degree child abuse, unlawful imprisonment and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Canady agreed to keep Conde's minimum sentence within the range of 29 months to 43 months. The maximum sentence for second-degree child abuse is 10 years. 

Conde and her then-husband, Yenier Conde, were charged last year after police said they locked their children in a dark bedroom that a detective likened to a "dungeon," with the door screwed shut as punishment.

The children, who then ranged in age from 6 to 11, had no food and water in the room and no access to a toilet, investigators said.

Sarah Conde and Yenier Conde

The abuse happened between June 2011 and June 2017, police said.

The children told Child Protective Services workers they had witnessed domestic violence all of their lives and were routinely beaten and threatened with guns. 

Experts who examined the children said all five had endured serious psychological abuse and had thought and mood disorders.

The children were placed in foster care in 2017, and their parent's parental rights were later terminated. Sarah and Yenier Conde are now divorced.

Yenier Conde, 33, is awaiting a trial now set for July 11. He faces 15 felony counts, including first- and second-degree child abuse, unlawful imprisonment, felony firearm possession and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Sarah Conde remains free on bond pending a July 17 sentencing.

More:5 Lansing children were locked in a 'dungeon' for days, whipped as punishment, police said

More:Parents who police say routinely locked children in ‘dungeon’ over six years to face trial

More:A mom took her kids from school after too many CPS reports. There's no law to prevent that.

Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.