Minnesota Parents Who Locked Their Kids in Cages for ‘Their Safety’ Sentenced to 4 Years: Reports

Benjamin and Christina Cotton reportedly pleaded guilty to child torture on Friday, Dec. 13

A Minnesota couple has reportedly been sentenced to four years after they locked their children in cages for "their safety." 

Benjamin and Christina Cotton from Red Wing, were sentenced by a Goodhue County judge on Friday, Dec. 13 after they pleaded guilty to one count of child torture after they kept their kids in makeshift cages at their home for four years, per CBS News, ABC affiliate KSTP and the Post Bulletin.

The couple was arrested and charged with 16 counts in June 2023. They initially received two counts of child torture, seven counts of malicious punishment of a child, and seven counts of neglecting a child. In September, they made a plea deal dismissing 15 counts, according to the outlets. 

On Aug. 17, 2022, Goodhue County Health and Human Services received a report of someone calling over concerns about the Cottons’ four young children as they accused the couple of offering "forms of extreme punishment” on their kids which included locking them in cages, per CBS News and KSTP.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by the outlets, an investigator with Red Wing police and a social worker made a welfare check visit to the Cottons’ home the next morning. Christina, 40, — who greeted them at the residence — said the children had been "locked up for their safety” when told about the report.

Related: 2-Year-Old Boy Found ‘Unclothed’ in 'Caged Area' Littered with Feces, 5 People Arrested: Police

In the bedroom, the investigator and social worker found a 2-year-old child “trapped inside a playpen that was covered by what appeared to be a dog gate,” per the complaint. Two children, aged five and seven, were also located in a bunk bed in the room that had been "converted into an actual cage.”

A 9-year-old child was also reportedly found unconfined in a basement bedroom.

According to the complaint, per multiple reports, Christina initially said that the kids were kept locked up to keep them from dying “because door alarms and child-proof locks would not work” and they were usually locked up at night. She said she hadn’t released the kids that day “because she woke up late.” 

Authorities determined that the children were locked up for at least 13 hours before the investigator and social worker arrived at the home, per KSTP. 

According to the complaint, per the outlets, the eldest three children were removed from the home and medically evaluated. They had “extensive bruising” and the youngest child wore a diaper duct taped to their skin.

Related: Ariz. Dad Locked Son, 6, in Closet and Starved Him to Death; Boy Weighed 18 lbs. When He Died

Several instances of child abuse were reported by the children in interviews, including being hit “really hard” by Christina and Benjamin, 42, having their hands tied with duct tape behind their backs, being hit with a belt if chores weren't done and not being able to go to the bathroom at night due to being caged, per KSTP.

The 9-year-old was reluctant to speak and told officials that their parents "don't want them talking about trouble" and to "keep it in the family,” CBS News reported. 

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In court on Friday, the children wrote in statements to the judge to "please lock them into prison until they are old,” as they called their parents “cold-blooded and cruel,” per the Post Bulletin. 

The outlet reported that it was determined through investigation that the children had been locked up for at least half of their lives.

PEOPLE has reached out to Red Wing Police for further comment at this time.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.