Julie R. Thayer appeared in Phillips County Court in front of Judge Kim Killin for sentencing last week. It is the first time Thayer has been inside the court room in front of a Judge following original charges of child abuse and assault last fall. Since the onset of her case, Thayer has appeared via tele-conference technology but that changed last week when she appeared for her final sentencing hearing.

As part of her plea agreement with the State reached two months ago, Thayer pled guilty to one count of child abuse and following a pre-sentencing investigation by the probation departme...