A Minneapolis man has admitted to sexually assaulting and beating his developmentally disabled twin daughters in their home.
Jerry Lee Curry, 52, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court to one charge each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, first-degree assault and gross misdemeanor child endangerment, according to a news release from the Hennepin County attorney’s office. Six related charges will be dropped.
Curry, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20, is expected to receive a 20-year prison term and another 10 years of supervised release, the news release said. He will also be forced to register as a sex offender.
“We are happy that Mr. Curry agreed to plead guilty and accept a long prison term for his crimes,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in the news release. “That saved his victims from having to testify and relive the horrific times he put them through. This is one of the most revolting cases I have seen and our prosecution team did a terrific job to bring justice for our victims.”
Forty-eight-year-old Sheila M. Wilson, who lived with Curry in South Minneapolis, is also charged with three counts of criminal neglect in the case.
Police began investigating the couple after one of Curry’s 20-year-old twin daughters — referred to in Court documents as “Victim A” — escaped the home in April 2017 and sought help at a homeless shelter.
Hennepin County removed the other twin — referred to as “Victim B” — and a 10-year-old sister — referred to as “Victim C” — from Curry’s home.
Victims A and B were determined to have developmental disabilities that rendered them incapable of independent — or even partially independent — living.
Victim A told investigators that Curry chained her and Victim B to his bedroom door — sometimes for days — which left deep wounds on their wrists and ankles that occasionally became infected, according to the criminal complaint against him. She also said Curry beat them with bats and paddles on their heads, arms and legs.
A physical examination of Victim A found that the top of her ear was “largely detached.” She was also blind in one eye, which she said was the result of Curry stomping on her head.
The Center for Safe and Healthy Children described Curry’s treatment of the twins as torture.
Victim B, who had given birth in June 2014 and was pregnant with a second child when she was removed from Curry’s home, told a nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center that Curry had raped her.
A DNA test excluded all but 0.0001 percent of the general population as being the father of the children. Curry was in that 0.0001 percent.
The younger sister did not exhibit any signs of abuse, but she told investigators that she witnessed the abuse of her sisters and that Curry had hit her in the head with a golf club when she was in second or third grade.
Curry and Wilson were arrested in February 2018.
Tad Vezner contributed to this report.
