Couple Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Extreme Child Abuse
An Arizona mother and her partner have been handed a 20-year prison sentence each due to their involvement in severe child abuse, which included physical attacks, food deprivation, and even setting fire to the 10-year-old victim.
The Maricopa County Attorney, Rachel Mitchell, revealed that the child’s mother, Chloe Rae Sergent, and Keola Wimbish, her partner, were arrested on April 5, 2022, after a family member reported the abuse to the authorities.
Mitchell described the abuse suffered by Sergent’s child as “significant.” The cruelty included physical assaults, denying the child food, neglecting medical care for injuries, and evidence pointing to one of the defendants setting the child on fire.
According to FOX 10 in Phoenix, Sergent disclosed details of the abuse to investigators, which involved using a machete and crowbar to harm the child. A family member also informed authorities that they never witnessed the defendants feeding the child.
Medical professionals reported that the child was severely malnourished, had suffered 12 broken bones, and other severe injuries, including infected cuts that required surgery.
In court, both Sergent and Wimbish pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse and an attempt to commit child abuse. Wimbish also admitted to a second charge of attempted child abuse.
The defendants were both sentenced to 20 years in state prison, followed by 10 years of supervised probation.
At the time of the abuse, Sergent and Wimbish were in a romantic relationship and lived together with the victim and two other children.
Maricopa County Attorney Mitchell remarked, “The abuse this child suffered at the hands of the people who were supposed to love and care for her is horrific. I’m particularly grateful to this young victim who was willing to bravely tell her story. Thanks to the intervention of a caring relative, thorough investigation by the police, and hard work by MCAO prosecutors, justice was done.”