LITCHFIELD, Conn. (AP) – A Torrington couple have pleaded guilty to charges in a child abuse case involving a 3-year-old boy with a broken arm who had been locked in his room for days.

By accepting plea agreements Tuesday, Jeremy Lacey, 30, and girlfriend Mistee Lee Lemons, 27, avoided trials and the possibility of lengthy prison sentences.

Instead, Lacey will get a year in prison and five years of probation. He pleaded guilty to risk of injury to a minor and two counts of cruelty to persons.

Lemons pleaded guilty to the same charges, though her plea deal came with six months in prison and five years of probation. If given credit for time served since her arrest, Lemons could be released at her sentencing.

The couple will be sentenced Jan. 26.

In July, Torrington police went to the couple’s second-floor apartment after a neighbor complained that children were being mistreated.

Through interviews with the boy’s two older brothers, police confirmed the 3-year-old had been kept in a bedroom with a bottle to urinate in. He said he broke his arm climbing on a milk crate while trying to get out of the room.

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Information from: The Register Citizen, http://www.ctcentral.com/jrc-html/papers/localnews-p5.html

AP-ES-10-18-06 0708EDT