'Sugar-seeking' teens gained 6 pounds in 5 years while living in cages they were forced to make using baby gates

A Texas pistillate volition walk the adjacent respective decades down bars for a litany of prolonged kid maltreatment meted retired to her teenage girl and son, authorities successful the Lone Star State announced this week.

In precocious January, Susan Rae Helton, 53, was convicted by a assemblage of her peers connected 4 counts of injury to a child causing superior bodily injury, according to the Comal County District Attorney's Office.

Jurors besides determined the sentence — 20 years for each count. Later, 466th District Court Judge Stephanie Bascon assessed the sentences for the archetypal and 2nd counts, for the archetypal child, to tally concurrently, oregon astatine the aforesaid time; she did the aforesaid for counts 3 and four, for the 2nd child. She past "stacked" the sentences for each child, resulting successful presumption of 20 years successful situation for each kid abused, according to prosecutors. The suspect volition person to service astatine slightest fractional of her combined 40-year condemnation earlier she is eligible for parole.

The names of the victims are not a substance of nationalist record.

The crimes day backmost to the summertime of 2018, according to Comal County Jail records. At the time, a Child Protective Services probe relayed concerns implicit carnal maltreatment and neglect of 2 of Helton's adopted children to the New Braunfels Police Department.

"Helton had been a foster attraction parent and implicit the years had adopted 8 children who had been anterior victims of kid maltreatment oregon neglect," the DA's bureau said successful a press release. "From the commencement of the investigation, the CPS idiosyncratic was shocked by the size and stature of 2 of the children, with Victim #1 being 14 years aged but lone weighing 48 pounds and Victim #2, property 13, weighing lone 50 pounds."

Fears of continued maltreatment and neglect were soon borne out.

During the investigation, each of the children surviving with the suspect were interviewed. Two of the children told investigators they were starved and physically abused with a loop if they were caught "stealing" nutrient from the kitchen. The victims besides said they were mostly confined to tiny triangular cages during the day. One of the children said they were often kept successful their cage overnight — different effort aimed astatine making definite they did not "steal food."

Those accounts were corroborated by the different children successful the house, according to instrumentality enforcement. The different children described the miss and lad being locked up successful their cages for up to 2 oregon 3 weeks astatine a clip erstwhile they were "in trouble."

"As grounds emerged, it became wide that Helton targeted these 2 children," the DA's bureau said.

During a astonishment CPS visit, an researcher recovered babe gates utilized to confine the children – and asked the victims to assemble them. Helton herself was asked to acceptable up the gates successful the configuration she utilized erstwhile the children slept and admitted to confining them successful the gates due to the fact that they were "sugar-seeking" and stealing food.

As the probe continued, instrumentality enforcement learned that each of the children successful the location were homeschooled and that the suspect regularly failed to travel up connected doctors' referrals. It was yet learned that some victims had gained lone six pounds and had grown lone 3 inches during the 5 years they had lived with Helton.

All the children were removed from the residence and provided due nutrition, and the 2 victims gained implicit 8 pounds successful little than a month, according to the DA's office. The victims were diagnosed with terrible malnutrition and nonaccomplishment to thrive.

During a two-week trial, prosecutors provided jurors with respective pieces of adept testimony.

On the witnesser stand, Dr. Shona Rabon of Dell Children's Medical Center testified that she has treated hundreds of pediatric patients implicit the people of her vocation and said the Helton lawsuit was 1 of the worst cases of malnourishment she had ever encountered.

To perceive the adept archer it, the children were not increasing owed to the lack of caloric intake and due nutrition.

"It was arsenic elemental arsenic that," Rabon told the jury.

Both victims besides took the basal to code their captor.

The pistillate unfortunate testified Helton forced her to basal wrong the babe gates for astir of the time portion doing exercises, reading, completing homework — and that she ate and slept there. She besides said she has continuous nightmares of being hunted down and trapped by the defendant.

The antheral unfortunate testified beingness with Helton was "rough" and helium was perpetually trying to support himself and his sister alive. He besides said helium ne'er got capable nutrient and that if helium obtained nutrient without support the suspect would bushed him with a loop oregon enactment him backmost successful the cage.

The suspect took the basal successful her ain defense.

Helton disputed claims of utilizing the loop to spank the children, said she ne'er forced them to execute excessive workout arsenic punishment, and said the children ne'er ate wrong the cages. During cross-examination, the suspect admitted to keeping the children successful the cages arsenic a substance of convenience to springiness herself a interruption and said the miss slept successful the cage for upward of 18 months total.

"Susan Helton took possession of these children [and was] expected to beryllium the everlastingly location they yearned for," authoritative Jessica Frazier told the assemblage during closing arguments. "And what did she do? She caged them similar animals. She punished them connected purpose. She punished them by taking distant the basal needs for a child. I'm going to inquire you to escaped them from these cages erstwhile and for all. Free them from the cages she has had them successful for each these years."