CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte mother will spend more than three years in prison for chaining her young children up for hours at a time.
[PAST COVERAGE: Couple accused of keeping children chained inside Charlotte home]
Channel 9 was in the courtroom Friday morning when Melissa Gonzalez-Guzman pleaded guilty to three counts of negligent child abuse.
The prosecutor said her husband, Felipe Gonzalez-Guzman, ordered her to chain up their four children, who range in age from 4 to 8 years old, while he was at work, assistant district attorney Terra Varnes said.
"They would often have to urinate in bed because they were not allowed to go to the bathroom when they needed to, and that they were not fed very often," Varnes said.
She said the children are in foster care and have been in therapy since the abuse was discovered last year.
"She would like to apologize for her actions," defense attorney Anthony Monaghan said.
Her husband is still waiting for his case to go to court.
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