A mother convicted of punishing her son by forcing him to sit in a dog cage was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison. Jessica Botzko, 28, apologized before the sentencing, saying that her time spent in jail the past six months "has really opened my eyes to the pain I was my causing children."
Botzko pleaded no contest last month to child endangering.
Lucas County Judge Linda Jennings said it was "inconceivable that a mother could do this."
She denied Botzko's plea for probation and sentenced her to just less than the maximum five-year sentence. Jennings gave Botzko credit for the six months she already has spent in jail.
Botzko and her boyfriend, John Westover, 37, were jailed in May, a day after their 10-year-old son escaped their Toledo home with his 5-year-old brother and told officers he was tired of being put in a dog cage, police said.
Westover has pleaded not guilty to child endangering charges and is awaiting trial later this month.
Officers said they found a collapsible cage and a shock collar used to train animals in the couple's mobile home. The cage, less than 2 feet tall and wide, had a chain across the top with two locks on each end, police said.
Lucas County Children Services placed the children with another family.
Another Ohio couple, Michael and Sharen Gravelle of Norwalk, were convicted in December of child abuse and endangerment for keeping some of their 11 special-needs adopted children in wire and wood enclosures.