Published: August 29, 2008 12:16 pm            

Women sentenced in abuse cases

Somerset — Two individuals accused of abusing their young children in separate incidents were sentenced in court yesterday.

Felicia O’Conner, 25, and Cherish Grigsby, 25, both of Somerset, were sentenced in Pulaski Circuit Court Thursday after they pleaded guilty to criminal abuse charges stemming from two different cases.

O’Conner pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree criminal abuse in July in connection with an August 2007 incident.

Authorities and social workers discovered two young boys, then four years old and seven months old, and a three-year-old girl locked in their rooms at the residence O’Conner shared with her husband, Patrick O’Conner.

Evidence was presented during Patrick O’Conner’s May trial that the doors to the children’s rooms were locked from the outside, they had no access to food and water, and there was no ventilation system or fans supplied to ward off the 100-degree heat.

The O’Conners were sleeping in their own bedroom while the children were in their rooms, according to evidence from Patrick O’Conner’s trial.

Patrick O’Conner was found guilty of three counts of first-degree criminal abuse and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

During Thursday’s proceedings Felicia O’Conner’s attorney, Jim Cox, asked that Circuit Judge David A. Tapp grant probation. Tapp declined to grant probation and sentenced O’Conner to seven years in prison.

Felicia O’Conner was remanded into custody.

Cherish Grigsby was also sentenced Thursday in connection with a February incident in which Grigsby’s two young children – then ages three and five – were found to have severe bruising on their bodies, along with marks consistent with rings from a belt.

Grigsby pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree criminal abuse in July for her part in the case.

The incident began when authorities and employees with the Cabinet for Families and Children visited the residence Grigsby shared with her then-boyfriend, Kevin Beckman Jr., 24, of Burnside, after receiving a report of abuse.

Beckman was sentenced in July to eight years in prison for two counts of first-degree criminal abuse and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

An initial investigation revealed evidence of abuse on the two children including “severe bruising about the body and face of both children as well as marks consistent with rings upon a belt.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney David Dalton presented photos to Tapp Thursday that revealed bruising on the buttocks of the two children, along with bruising on the face of one of the children.

Deputies also found drug paraphernalia in the residence, including scales, rolling papers, marijuana cigarettes and baggies with suspected marijuana during the investigation.

Tapp called the case a “deeply disturbing” one and sentenced Grigsby to two years in prison for each count of criminal abuse. Those will run concurrently for a total of four years in prison.

Another Pulaski County woman appeared in district court yesterday in connection with another criminal abuse case.

Lisa S. Denny, 40, of 123 Aqua Trail, Somerset, made an appearance in Pulaski District Court Thursday to answer to criminal abuse charges she received last week after authorities found living conditions at her home considered deplorable for her children.

The incident began last week when a school resource officer and family resource personnel from Southern Middle School visited Denny’s residence to check on a 13-year old student that lived there. When officers discovered the conditions of the home, deputies from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department and personnel from the Department of Social Services were dispatched to the residence.

The investigation revealed garbage piled inside and outside of the residence. Food and dirty dishes were also found scattered throughout the home, and the interior looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned for a long period of time, according to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. The floors and bathroom were also dirty, according to the sheriff’s department. There were also flies, “along with a smell coming from the inside of the residence from the filth, which made entering the residence almost unbearable for the investigators on the scene,” officials said.

The four children, ages 14, 13, 6, and 4 were taken into custody by the Department of Social Services.

The father of the children was not at the residence at the time of the incident.

During Thursday’s proceedings a pretrial hearing was waived and Denny’s bond was modified from $15,000 cash only to $15,000 third-party unsecured.

Denny is charged with four counts of criminal abuse.

        

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