OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — No cameras were allowed inside the courtroom for Juanita Pinon's sentencing, but it was filled with people waiting to hear her sentence.
Pinon was emotional. She plead no contest to negligent child abuse resulting in death. Pinon was sentenced to 6-10 years after her five-year-old foster son died in a hot SUV last July.
Prosecutors say she left her five-year-old foster son in a hot car last July for almost seven hours. They said Pinon failed miserably at protecting her child.
"She certainly broke the law. She had a duty to take care of this child, and she totally neglected doing her duty," said Douglas County Attorney Don Kliene.
The defense argued that this was accidental and argued for probation. They said putting Pinon in prison would not change the punishment that she is already giving herself.
Pinon is eligible for parole when she has served half of her sentence.
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