A Florida mother kept her 17-year-old adopted son in a cage in her home and starved him. She was sentenced to 20 years in jail for it, the Associated Press reported.

The sentence in the case of Brenda Sullivan, 51, was given on Thursday. She pleaded guilty in January to three counts of aggravated child abuse in an agreement after which prosecutors dropped other charges such as child neglecting.

In 2005, when the child welfare workers found the teenager locked up he weighted no more than 49 pounds (22 Kg).

When addressing the judge, the woman said that she was told by the Ohio authorities to keep the boy in a crib because he had medical and emotional problems.

The crib was in fact prescribed by a doctor, but he testified in March that he made the prescription when the boy was 7 and he said he never told Sullivan to keep the boy in a crib with a slatted wood covering. When the doctor saw how Sullivan put into practice his advices he nearly shed tears, Schlax said.

"There's only one conclusion when you look at the medical evidence in this case, and that is that she literally starved him," prosecutor Julie Schlax said according to the A.P.

The mother also adopted two twins as infants. They are 13 now and have testified they were also locked in cages by Sullivan. Her husband, who actively participated, was also put under arrest, but he died last year before being convicted.

The defense lawyer, Charles Fletcher, thought the sentence was inappropriate because his client doesn’t pose a threat to society and therefore it’s not right to keep her away from it.  

"She's obviously not going to be adopting any more children," said Fletcher who added that he would appeal the sentence.

Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper described the conditions in which the teen boy lived as “that of an animal."