An American couple has been fined 105 million shillings ($28,000) by a Ugandan court after they pleaded guilty to child cruelty and inhumane treatment of their 10-year-old foster child. According to BBC, Nicholas Spencer and his wife Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer were arrested last year and were charged with "aggravated trafficking" and committing "aggravated torture" against the boy over a two-year period.
The couple had denied the allegations of torture and child trafficking but pleaded guilty to inhumane or degrading treatment, working illegally and unlawful stay in Uganda.
On Tuesday, High Court Judge Alice Kyomuhangi said that as a result of a plea bargain with prosecutors, the defendants - who have lived in Uganda since 2017 and had been free on bail since March - agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges.
"The child was in need of help and support, having lost his father and having been abandoned by his own mother. Unfortunately, the accused person failed to manage his peculiar behaviours," the judge said while delivering her ruling.
Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer pleaded guilty to inflicting cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment for which she was sentenced to a fine of 3.36 million shillings or two years in prison. Nicholas Spencer admitted one count of child neglect for which he was fined 1.5 million shillings or six months in jail, Reuters reported.
The couple had opted to pay fines for both those charges.
The couple made their foster son sleep on a wooden platform and fed him cold food.
Their nanny reported the couple to local police last December. The nanny said the couple treated the boy who has special needs in an inhumane manner.
The foster child lived with the couple for two years before they were arrested, BBC reported.
David Mpanga, the couple's lawyer, told the Reuters news agency the boy had psychiatric issues and that the pair failed to look after him properly because they had no parenting experience.
