ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) - A suburban St. Louis couple was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison for keeping their autistic son inside a makeshift cage.
St. Charles County Circuit Judge Ted House dismissed a defense request for probation for Terry Smith, 45, and his 44-year-old wife, Victoria. He told the O'Fallon, Missouri couple that there was no reason to deviate from the sentence recommended by the jury that convicted them last month of child endangerment.
While pressing for prison time without specifying how much, prosecutor Becky Shaffar noted that the Smiths never apologized for their mistreatment of their impaired son and "are not responsible adults under any circumstances."
The case surfaced in December 2010, when an anonymous called tipped off authorities. When police, paramedics and a case worker responded, the boy's grandmother was watching the boy - then 6 years old - and five siblings while the parents were shopping.
Authorities said she led them to the basement, where the autistic child was in a 3-foot-by-6-foot crib covered with a plywood top and held together with bungee cords and zip ties.
Investigators said he was naked and sitting in feces and urine.
During Friday's sentencing hearing, a public defender for Victoria Smith, Courtney Harness, insisted probation would be appropriate because the couple's "large family needs two parents."
Shaffar, the prosecutor, countered that the couple should be punished for "putting the child in a cage over and over because he was an inconvenience to them."
Steven Kobal, another prosecutor, said the state child-welfare advocates will decide what happens to the children now.
Judge House on Friday also ordered that the Smiths each pay a $500 fine.