A Michigan man has pleaded no contest to child abuse for allegedly punishing his five children with whippings and confinement in a dark, locked bedroom described by one officer as a dungeon.
Thirty-three-year-old Yenier Conde’s trial was underway Tuesday when the Lansing man pleaded no contest to two counts of second-degree child abuse. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
The Lansing State Journal reports that prosecutors agreed to dismiss 13 other charges. Conde’s sentencing is set for July 28.
Conde and his then-wife, Sarah Conde, were charged last year after police said they locked their children in a dark bedroom that a detective likened to a “dungeon.”
Their parental rights were later terminated.
Sarah Conde pleaded guilty in June to one count of second-degree child abuse. Her sentencing is scheduled for later this month.
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Information from: Lansing State Journal, http://www.lansingstatejournal.com
