Top inset: Benjamin Cotton. Bottom inset: Christina Cotton (Goodhue County Jail). Background: Home where the Cottons tortured their young children (KSTP).
A mother and father in Minnesota are headed to prison for the next four years for locking their kids in makeshift cages at night, insisting to cops that they did so for “safety” reasons.
Benjamin Cotton 42, and Christina Cotton, 40, pleaded guilty to child torture, court records show. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed the 15 other charges they were facing including torture, neglect and malicious punishment of a child, reported Twin Cities ABC affiliate KSTP. According to a probable cause statement, the Goodhue County Health and Human Services received a report in August 2022 concerning the well-being of four children, ages 9, 7, 5 and 2. Christina Cotton had been behaving erratically and had a history of mental illness, cops said. The report also said at least one of the children had been locked in a cage, the affidavit said.
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A social worker and investigator from the Red Wing Police Department went to the home the day after receiving the report. Christina Cotton answered the door and invited them inside. She said the three younger children were in their bedrooms while the older child was downstairs. When cops asked if any of the children were locked in cages, Christina Cotton became upset and told them the kids were “locked up for their safety,” the affidavit said.
Investigators went to a bedroom and saw a 2-year-old locked in a playpen with what appeared to be a dog cage strapped on top so the child could not get out. The child wore a soiled diaper which was duct taped around his body, police said. Next to the playpen was a bunk bed “designed for very small children” that had wooded planks around the exterior that kept the kids locked up. The 7- and 5-year-old were inside, along with a mattress, blankets and a “puke bowl,” according to cops. They could not stand up, police noted. There was also a wooden door that had a sliding metal lock.
The mother said she locked up the kids around 8:30 p.m. the night before, meaning they had been contained in the cages for about 13 hours. The 9-year-old was found downstairs and not locked up. But the child had “excessive bruising” that covered the back and buttocks, police said.
According to the affidavit, the 7-year-old told cops he had his hands taped behind his back with duct tape as a form of punishment. He also said that he has to do daily chores like cleaning rugs and the couch and picking up toys. When he doesn’t do them, he said his father hits him with a belt “hard” and his mother “hits him really, really hard.” Further examination of the other three kids also showed bruising on their hips, buttocks and legs.
“The treating doctor opined that all of the bruising documented on the children was consistent with being forcibly stuck with an object such as a belt,” cops wrote.
Per police, the social worker told Christina Cotton that it was unacceptable to lock up her children in that manner. But she said “you don’t understand” and insisted the cages were to prevent her kids from “dying,” police said. She said one time one of the kids escaped and grabbed a kitchen knife. The mother also expressed concern that the children may get into household chemicals. Christina Cotton said if they weren’t caged they would “end up dead” and it would be the “fault” of the police department and Health and Human Services.
In an interview with investigators, the 9-year-old girl said she was concerned that she would get in trouble by talking to them, saying her parents told her that disciplinary issues stayed within the home. She said her parents told her that people who cause trouble end up in jail as adults.
“She explained that if an older person ends up in jail that they are given limited food quantity, limited food choices, and live in a cage,” the affidavit said.
Further investigation revealed that the parents had been caging their kids at night for at least four years. A licensed psychologist determined the children suffered “severe abuse” and may suffer developmental issues as a result. HHS took custody of the children.
