Megan Schug, 24, of Michigan, was sentenced Friday to 25 to 50 years in prison after almost killing her autistic four-year-old son by locking him in a closet
The mother of a four-year-old autistic boy who was left in a closet without access to food, water or the restroom was sentenced Friday to 25 to 50 years in prison.
Megan Schug, 24, of Michigan, pleaded guilty in Calhoun County, Michigan circuit court in February.
She said in court Monday ‘I love every one one of my children,’ and apologized for her horrendous mistreatment of Maloyd Gaines, who almost died due to the extensive abuse he received.
Judge Sarah Lincoln said she has encountered rapists and murderers in court before, however, ‘you stand before me as possibly the most evil person who has ever been in this courtroom.’
‘You were attempting to kill him slowly,’ Lincoln said. ‘Had you wanted to kill this child you could have done it quicker and more painless but you subjected him to months if not years of prolonged suffering.’
On March 22, 2017 Schug took her son to Bronson Battle Creek as he was lethargic, emaciated, and having trouble breathing. Schug told doctors he was not eating.
Chief Assistant Calhoun County Prosecutor Daniel Buscher said when he saw photos of the young boy he thought something was wrong. ‘When I first saw the pictures I mentioned to the detective that I thought, “this wasn’t a homicide?”‘ Buscher said.
She said in court Monday ‘I love every one one of my children,’ and apologized for her horrendous mistreatment of Maloyd Gaines, who almost died due to the extensive abuse he received
‘I have never seen anyone abused to such an extent before that hadn’t been dead.’
When police inspected Schug’s home, they found a closet with an outside lock where they said the boy was kept in his own feces and urine.
Prosecutors said Schug and Isaac Miller tormented Schug’s son Gaines by making him fight with his half-siblings, who tore clumps out of his hair.
They say Miller, 36, who is the father to two of Schug’s four children, singled him out. Police later arrested Miller and charged him with child abuse. His trial is scheduled for July.
Doctors confirmed Gaines had painful open sores, gangrene toes, and was emaciated from lack of food. Gaines later lost several toes to a gangrene infection.
Doctors said the abuse was clear and he was taken out of their care. ‘He was very thin to the point he was very sickly. He had abrasions and cuts and rashes all over his body.’
Schug’s, who has three other children, abused Maloyd Gaines so badly he had painful open sores and gangrene toes when doctors inspected him
‘His toes were blackened and swollen and his hands also were swollen,’ Michael Zaleski, a Child Protection Services case worker who was called to the hospital, said.
When Zaleski visited the home that night, he found there was no furniture except for a small couch, TV and TV stand and human waste littered the floors.
Prosecutors said Schug and Isaac Miller (pictured here) tormented Schug’s son Gaines by making him fight with his half-siblings, who tore clumps out of his hair
Once in custody, Maloyd’s mother admitted locking him in a closet, sometimes overnight, for punishment.
She told them she carried out the abuse at Miller’s request because she was scared he would hurt her if she didn’t.
‘At nighttime, they would lock him in the closet and sometime in the morning open the closet,’ Detective Ray Strunk said.
They deprived him from food for a day or two at a time and beat him with wooden slates when he refused to hold a crate as another form of punishment, the detective claimed.
Schug told police that despite her son’s filthy condition, she was not allowed to bathe him unless Miller was present, which she claimed was seldom.
Her only apparent attempt to treat him was to rub petroleum jelly on his wounds, the policeman said.
After her arrest in March, Schug’s relatives tearfully told local media outlets that they feared for his well-being and had tried to remove him from the couple’s care but were denied.
‘I asked my sister, can I take my nephew, she said no. I knew he was being beat up by Mike,’ Morgan Schug told WWMT.
She claimed to have seen him beating the boy with a switch. It’s not clear whether she reported her concerns to police, Detroit Free Press reported.
Schug’s mother Misty wept after her arrest in March 2017 (left) while Schug’s sister Morgan said she knew her nephew was being beaten (right)
Foster parents Michelle Woodard and her husband began caring for the boy on May 19, 2017 and plan to adopt him. ‘He is a beautiful little boy who connected with us and smiled and jumped into my arms when we first met and called me mom,’ she told the judge.
‘He had the brightest smile and just wants to be shown love and affection.’
Woodard said the boy’s psychological injuries are very apparent. ‘He hoarded his food and hid it in the closet and guarded his food when he was eating,’ she said.
‘He had to have someone with him at all times when he was eating because he was at risk of choking because he ate so fast and swallowed his food without chewing. He would not sleep in his bed or his bedroom. He would put his blanket and pillow in a closet.’
Schug and Miller deprived him from food for a day or two at a time and beat him with wooden slates when he refused to hold a crate as another form of punishment, the detective claimed
Woodard also said his moods were temperamental, ‘He would be calm one moment and then into a fit of rage with his eyes glassed over and he would become angry and aggressive. He would rip my hair out and try to bite me in the face and punch and kick us,’ she said.
‘He would act as though he was pulling off his belt and hit himself and put his hands around his neck and squeeze.’
Maloyd suffers from PTSD, severe trauma and anxiety, she said. ‘He fears that Megan and Issac have a key to get out of jail. He locks the doors and checks them and closes the curtains so that Megan and Issac can not see him. He always asks for the closet doors to be closed.’
‘I plead with the court to have mercy on Maloyd and sentence Megan to the maximum sentence allowed,’ Woodard said.
‘Allow him to feel safe and trust and allow him to heal and be a child that is receiving love and who can be excited about life, a life that is filled with smiles and love.’