Christiansburg mother pleads guilty to 3 child abuse charges, will not serve more jail time

Her husband, the children's stepfather, is in prison

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – A Christiansburg woman who pleaded guilty to three counts of felony child abuse will not serve any more time in jail.

A judge sentenced Victoria Crockett to nine years in prison Monday, three years for each charge.

However, as part of a plea agreement with the prosecution, the judge ordered Crockett to serve only 10 days of the sentence, and because she had already served 12 days after her arrest before being released on bail, she will not spend any more time behind bars.

The prosecution said there is no evidence she abused the children herself. She faced the charges because she failed to step in and report the abuse.

Crockett also received five years of probation.

In court Monday, Crockett told the judge she made a, “Terrible mistake trusting the man I married," and she said, “I love my children."

Victoria Crockett's husband and the children’s stepfather, Benjamin Crockett, pleaded guilty last month to the "severe physical abuse” of his three stepsons. He’s scheduled to serve just short of three years in prison. 

At the time 10 News published the first story on this case in May of 2018, the boys were 7, 10 and 11 years old.

During a previous hearing, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Cristina Agee said the boys said Benjamin Crockett punched and kicked them in the stomach, knocking the wind out of them. In one incident, one boy said Crockett kicked his brother hard that he went “across the room.” He gave one of them black eyes and a chipped cheekbone. He tied one of them to a bed for a long period of time.

The boys also said their mother ignored these incidents.

Warrant: Guns, feces, 19 dogs in home of Christiansburg couple charged with child abuse

Search warrants connected to the case show the downstairs floor of the home was matted with dog feces. There was feces in almost every room of the home, according to the documents, and investigators found a child’s clothes soaked in dog urine inside a dresser. There were dirty dishes and mold in the kitchen.

Investigators also found a large box inside the home that contained nine pistols, all loaded with a round in the chamber, plus seven cases of ammunition sitting on the floor at the front door.

There were a total of 19 dogs on the property, including some puppies in the basement, and many of them were living in their own filth.

The prosecution said the children went to live with their mother's grandfather before the parents were arrested. Commonwealth's attorneys did not say if the Montgomery County Social Services Department moved the children or if the family made the decision on its own.

The Crocketts have a child of their own together, a daughter who was 1 year old last year. There has not been any evidence shown that she has been abused.