FORT PIERCE, Fla. – A Florida woman accused of abusing 11 disabled children she adopted — while pocketing more than $1 million in subsidies — has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Judith Leekin pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges of aggravated child abuse. The sentence was the maximum called for in her plea agreement.
The children were adopted in New York City before Leekin moved to Florida in 1998. The 63-year-old, who moved to the U.S. from Trinidad, is accused of beating and handcuffing the children. Authorities say she also deprived them of food, medical care and school.
Leekin was sentenced in July in New York federal court to nearly 11 years in prison for fraud. That sentence will run concurrently with the Florida prison term.
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