An Oklahoma City woman accused of child abuse and terrorizing her grandchildren by dressing as a witch to punish them has been convicted and sentencedin the case.
Geneva S. Robinson, 51, was charged with child abuse after taking her 7-year-old granddaughter to a local hospital in October 2014, saying she could nolonger control the child. Medical staff, however, said they found signs of child abuse. When police interviewed the child, she told them of horrificabuse. She said her grandmother told her that witches and creatures lived in the attic of the house, and that she was going to give her to the creaturesif she didn't behave. She says her grandmother would dress up like a witch named "Nelda" to threaten and punish her. The girl said that her grandmotherwould use a dog leash to hang her by her armpits from the ceiling of the garage. A younger boy who lived at the home said his grandmother held scissorsto his finger and threatened to cut it off.
In February, Robinson pleaded guilty to five felony counts of child abuse. She admitted to scratching the girl's neck, hitting her with a rolling pin,cutting her hair while she slept, and striking her in the face.
At sentencing this week, Assistant District Attorney Merydith Easter called Robinson's home a "house of horrors," saying the physical and emotional abusethe child suffered at her grandmother's hands would haunt her forever. She said that Robinson deserved no mercy, because she gave no mercy to the littlegirl living at her home.
Oklahoma County District Judge Michele McElwee agreed, sentencing Robinson to three life terms, with each sentence to run consecutively.
Robinson's boyfriend, Joshua Granger, 33, was also charged with child abuse. He pleaded guilty in February to one count of felony child abuse, admittingto helping Robinson to scare the child. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Under Oklahoma law, the maximum penalty for child abuse is life in prison.
