RED WING, Minn. – A Red Wing husband and wife were sentenced to four years in prison for torturing their three children. Benjamin Taylor Cotton, 42, and Christina Ann Cotton, 40, had caged and otherwise abused the children. A social worker discovered the situation in June 2023. The original charges were child torture, child neglect or endangerment, and malicious child punishment. The charges were reduced in plea bargaining. Goodue County Judge Douglas Bayley accepted the watered-down charges. And Christina Cotton pleaded guilty to one count of child torture, and Benjamin Cotton to one count of child torture liability for letting it happen. The other criminal counts were dismissed.
