Aug. 8—WILKES-BARRE — A mother and her boyfriend were sentenced to years in state prison for neglecting her 6-year-old son, who weighed 20 pounds in January 2021, when officials at Greater Nanticoke Area School District notified authorities.
Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas called the criminal acts by Natalie M. Shaffer, 28, and Zachary Micheal Vincent, 33, “inhumane.”
Shaffer and Vincent were initially charged by county detectives in February 2021, on allegations they withheld food from the boy while he was in their care from January 2016 to January 2020 when the boy was placed in foster care, according to court records.
Shaffer reportedly complained, “she was sick of taking care of this (expletive) kid,” and missed or canceled nearly 100 medical appointments, court records say.
After their arrests, the couple was charged a second time when detectives alleged they endangered their three other children by living in a house filled with debris and dog feces at their Pine View Estates residence in Rice Township.
Detectives noted in court records the residence was filled with broken or dismantled furniture and the couple including the children slept on a single mattress in a living room.
Lupas sentenced Shaffer to five-to-12 years in prison and Vincent to four-to-12-years in prison on charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, followed by seven years probabtion. Shaffer and Vincent pled guilty to the charges Feb. 10.
State Deputy Attorney General Angela Sperrazza asked for a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Both Shaffer and Vincent are prohibited from having any contact with the child for the entirety of their prison and probation terms.
Sperrazza said the boy had little to no body fat when the neglect was discovered. The boy has been able to gain and maintain weight, Sperrazza said.
Sperrazza said no reasonable parent would neglect their child as Shaffer had done, who she said ignored multiple attempts from physicians with offers to evaluate the boy.
Shaffer, represented by Attorney John Pike, and Vincent, represented by Attorney Allyson Kacmarski, apologized in court.