BATAVIA — A couple accused of torturing their five adopted children have learned their punishment.
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Matthew Robert Edmonson pleaded guilty to five counts of child endangerment Friday morning while Charles Edmonson pleaded guilty to three counts of child endangerment, one count of felonious assault, and one count of kidnapping.
Matthew Edmonson is sentenced to 13 years in prison, while Charles is sentenced to 15 years, according to our news partner WCPO.
News Center 7 previously reported that the couple took in five brothers as foster children and eventually adopted them.
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Prosecutors said the five kids were kept in a “dungeon” when they were punished, and they had no food or clothing.
Their mother would then talk to the children through a camera similar to cameras pet owners would talk to their pets through, the prosecution said.
The sheriff’s office said the children had been in and out of the hospital for “bruising, bleach burns and potential internal bleeding” which prosecutors said the couple would explain away.
Prosecutors said a detective recovered several videos showing the parents treating the five biological brothers “worse than prisoners of war.”
The boys were moved to new living conditions where prosecutors said they were “thriving.”
Matthew’s biological son, Bailey, was also sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor counts of child endangerment.
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