An Ohio couple pleaded guilty to torturing and abusing their five adopted children.
Cincinnati.com reports that on Friday, Charles Edmonson, 64, and his wife, Matthew Edmonson, 50, entered guilty pleas in Clermont County Common Pleas Court.
Charles Edmonson pleaded guilty to kidnapping, felonious assault, and three counts of child endangerment. As part of a plea deal, 48 other charges against him were dismissed, along with the possibility of a life sentence.
Matthew Edmonson pleaded guilty to five counts of child endangerment, with 44 other charges dismissed in her plea agreement.
Judge Richard Ferenc sentenced Charles Edmonson to a minimum of 15 years in prison, while Matthew Edmonson received 13 years. According to Cincinnati.com, their sentences could be extended by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction depending on their behavior in prison.
As previously reported by CrimeOnline, the couple was indicted on charges of torturing and abusing their five adopted children, who were all biological siblings brought into the home as foster children before the Edmonsons adopted them, according to WLWT.
Prosecutors revealed that the children had been hospitalized multiple times for bruises, bleach burns, internal bleeding, and failure to thrive, with the parents offering excuses for the injuries.
Charles Edmonson is already serving a three-year prison sentence for engaging in sexual relations with another adopted son, who was an adult at the time.
The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office uncovered numerous videos during the investigation showing both defendants treating the children “worse than prisoners of war.”
“The videos of these undernourished and naked children huddled together in a locked basement room, lying on the stone-cold floor like a pile of puppies trying to keep warm, are nothing short of gut-wrenching,” said Prosecuting Attorney Mark J. Tekulve.
“These two are unfit to be parents, and I am grateful to those who worked tirelessly to ensure they will never be again.”
Bailey Edmonson, the biological son of Charles and Matthew Edmonson, was also sentenced on Friday. He received two years of probation after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor counts of child endangerment.
