LUCEDALE (WKRG) — A Lucedale woman will serve 10 years in prison after she pled guilty to three counts of child abuse Wednesday, June 28.
Ava Keel, 34, pled guilty to the counts after a 10-year-old child was abused. Keel burned the child with a lit cigarette, smothered them with a pillow and held their head underwater in Aug. and Sept. 2017, according to prosecutors.
Keel plead guilty June 22 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of post-release supervision. She was also ordered to pay $850 in fines, including $100 to the Crime Victims Fund, by George County Circuit Court Judge Robert Krebs.
She told the court she was using drugs at the time the crimes were committed. Upon entering the Missouri Dept. of Corrections, she was ordered to receive a psychiatric evaluation.