JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WCYB) - A Tennessee couple arrested in 2017 after their daughter, who has autism, was found in a makeshift cage received probation following a hearing in Criminal Court on Thursday.
Mickey Sparks, 64, and Patricia Laws, 44, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of child neglect but their girl, who was discovered by investigators laying on a mattress in filthy conditions, remains in state care.
The Washington County couple was indicted in March 2017, a month after the discovery at their home near Jonesborough. Court records obtained by WCYB said the couple told DCS officials that keeping her in the cage was the only way they could control her.
Sparks and Laws also have three other children that remain in their care.
