Nebraska woman sentenced in child abuse case

WAKEFIELD, Neb. (AP) — A northeastern Nebraska woman has been sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for child abuse that included locking two children in a bedroom and feeding them only once a day.

Angel Henderson told a judge on Friday that she and her husband adopted two special-needs children out of love. But the Sioux City Journal reported that Judge Bryan Meismer told Henderson they added more trauma to the kids’ lives.

A jury in November found Henderson, 44, of Wakefield, guilty of two child abuse counts. She and her husband, Patrick, were arrested in January 2019 after police found one of the children — then 14 — hiding and dressed in pajamas in which the legs had been sewn together and the arms sewn to the sides to restrict movement.

Henderson said Friday that the pajamas were used for “swaddling,” or helping to calm the children. She said both had behavioral issues.

Patrick Henderson, 56, pleaded guilty to one felony and one misdemeanor count of child abuse in November 2019 and was sentenced to four years in prison.