A case of child abuse that began more than a year ago ended for two of the three people accused of locking a child in a cage and starving her for several months.
Jennifer Reed and Raymond Burks received sentences of 22 years and 18 years in prison, respectively, after entering guilty pleas in the case.
The two were charged with abusing an 11-year-old girl in their care by handcuffing her to a cage and withholding food from her as a form of punishment from July 2017 to February of 2018.
Both Reed and Burks originally had more than 40 charges filed against them alleging they also used a stun gun and beat the child. The original charges included 10 kidnapping charges, nine domestic assault charges, six armed criminal action charges, 16 endangering the welfare of a child charges and one charge for child abuse or neglect.
Reed must serve almost 13 years before being eligible for parole.
Burks must serve 11 years before being eligible for parole.
One more defendant remains in the case. Lonnie Johnson is accused of abusing the 11-year-old girl and hiding evidence of said abuse. He is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree and one count of tampering with evidence in a felony prosecution.