Two New Mexico women who authorities said starved, beat and chained their children were sentenced to prison Thursday, prosecutors said.
Jayme Kushman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years and Jaime Sena pleaded no contest was sentenced to six in prison, the Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
They were both arrested in August, after New Mexico State Police said that it and a child and family services worker found unsanitary conditions and signs of abuse at the Texico home where they lived with six children.
Some of the children described being starved, beaten and chained, state police said.
A no contest plea is not a guilty plea, but results in a conviction.
Kushman pleaded guilty to five counts of child abuse, and Sena pleaded no contest to three counts of child abuse, the district attorney’s office said.
A third woman, Lora Melancon, was also charged and is expected to plead guilty Monday to two counts of child abuse, according to the district attorney’s said.
Attorneys for Kushman and Sena did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.
Texico is a city of around 1,000 in eastern New Mexico, near the Texas border.
CORRECTION (July 15, 2023, 11:35 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated how Jayme Kushman pleaded. She pleaded guilty to five counts of child abuse, not no contest.
