A Georgia couple convicted of locking their 13-year-old son in a basement for nearly two years were each sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of probation Monday.
Ricardo and Therian Wimbush received the sentence after being found guilty on three counts of second-degree cruelty to children in a Gwinnett County courtroom last week, television station WGCL reported.
The couple turned themselves in a day after authorities detailed the case against them in 2014.
Their 13-year-old son had been confined to a basement room for about two years and locked inside since January 2013, Gwinnett County Police spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith said.
“He was essentially being treated as a prisoner would be treated,” Smith said following the couple’s arrest, CNN reported. “The window had been painted over. There was no light bulb outside. What was inside was a bucket that the child was using as a bathroom, a mattress and box spring.”
State child protection workers went to the Wimbush home after receiving a tip and found the boy locked in an 8-by-6-foot room with no light bulb, books, toys or television, Smith said.
According to a Gwinnett County detective, the teen was punished for allegedly touching several sibling’s genitals and stealing one of their DVD players, WGCL reported.
The couple represented themselves throughout the trial, in which the judge also cited charges for another child involved, saying he wasn’t properly treated for skin cancer.