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- Travis William McCoy was sentenced to zero to five years in prison for child abuse.
- McCoy and his wife Catherine Ann Dillard neglected their children's health and lived in squalor, charges state.
- Dillard pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse and will be sentenced Feb. 3.
TOOELE — A Tooele man previously convicted of child abuse has been sentenced to prison after investigators say he neglected his children's health and allowed them to live in squalor.
Travis William McCoy and his wife, Catherine Ann Dillard, both 33, were charged Aug. 25 with two counts of aggravated child abuse, one third-degree felony and one class A misdemeanor; and two counts of child abuse, a class C misdemeanor.
McCoy pleaded guilty in September to the third-degree felony child abuse charge, and the other three charges were dismissed. As part of the plea agreement, the court agreed to reduce the severity of his conviction if he successfully completes probation.
In a sentencing hearing Monday, McCoy was sentenced to a term of zero to five years in prison, with credit granted for the 103 days he has previously served.
The latest charges came only one week after McCoy was convicted of child abuse with injury, a class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced to one year of probation. In that case, McCoy hit his son, who is under the age of 10, in the face in March, in addition to other abuse, charging documents state. Employees at the boy's school noted the injuries and contacted authorities.
While that investigation was happening, McCoy and Dillard got their home cleaned up, detectives noted. But by July, "the same house has been seen with live mice inside the house and dog feces all over inside the house," a search warrant affidavit alleges, adding that mice were crawling on one child's bed at night and one bit the child.
Two boys, both under the age of 10, were taken into state protective custody.
Dillard pleaded guilty on Oct. 28 to aggravated child abuse, a class A misdemeanor. A third-degree felony aggravated child abuse charge and two class C misdemeanor counts of child abuse were dismissed. She will be sentenced on Feb. 3.
Investigators say one of the boys was diagnosed with an eye disorder. The couple knew of the boy's condition but "did not ensure that the victim made his eye appointments, nor was the victim kept with the proper equipment to do so. (Their) failure to see to the victim's eye care has resulted in extended, if not permanent, damage to the victim's eyesight," charging documents state. "Also, the victim's teeth were in tremendous disrepair."
McCoy, Dillard and the children also lived in "squalor," according to prosecutors. "The house was unkempt and crawling with rodents, filth and multiple forms of animal feces."
