Longmont parents sentenced to 10 years in prison for abusing blind, autistic son

A Boulder District Court judge ruled Tuesday that the Longmont parents of a blind, autistic teenage boy who was malnourished nearly to death should spend the next decade in prison, saying she had seen no evidence they had taken accountability.

David and Vanessa Hall, who pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, were handcuffed at the end of their sentencing hearing, when Judge Ingrid Bakke sentenced them to 10 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections followed by three years of parole.

"There was a conscious decision to isolate him ... so that nobody would see what kind of condition he was in," Bakke said about the boy.

Boulder County prosecutors had requested the parents be sent to prison for 15 years to prevent them from interfering with their son's progress, while defense attorneys argued a community-based punishment with a clear no-contact order would be enough to keep them away.

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