CANTON, Ohio (AP) — A woman who padlocked a 7-year-old girl in a dog cage in the basement of an Ohio home
has been sentenced to three years in prison.
A judge imposed the sentence Monday after Lillian Cottrell, 29, of Canton, pleaded guilty to child
endangerment. Her boyfriend, Derek Mayle, 30, of Canton, faces the same charge and is scheduled to stand
trial in March.
Stark County prosecutors have said the couple tortured the girl over the course of seven months last year
and kept her padlocked in the cage at times as punishment. When she was removed from the home by child
welfare officials, she weighed 28 pounds.
The child, who authorities say is related to Cottrell, is now in the custody of a family friend who plans
to adopt her.