Probation, 104 days of jail time for grandmother accused of locking girl in kennel because she 'gets into everything'
Gail Lalonde
WATERFORD -- A Racine County grandmother, accused of locking a 9-year-old child in a dog kennel has been sentenced to probation and jail time.
Gail Lalonde, 47, of Waterford, in April pleaded no contest to four charges: causing mental harm to a child, and three counts of possession of THC, as party to a crime.
In court on Monday, Aug. 13, Lalonde was sentenced to serve three years probation on the first count -- and 104 days in the Racine County Jail on each of the three possession of THC charges, to be served concurrently.
Dale Deavers
Dale Deavers, 49, faces four charges:
He has a jury trial set to begin in October.
According to the criminal complaint, a school counselor reported to a deputy on Sept. 6, 2017 that a "student told her she was being locked in a cage at night." The counselor indicated the child had come to school with a very short haircut. The child told the counselor it was her "punishment" -- to cut her own hair. The counselor interviewed the student and the child said her caregiver "would lock her in an 8'x4' cage, and lock it with a keyed lock." The child indicated she was locked up because she "has been going into medicine cabinets at home and destroying things."
Lalonde lives with Deavers, who owns the residence where the alleged crime took place.
When a deputy went to the home where the child was living, he interviewed Gail Lalonde. He asked Lalonde about a report of a child being locked up in a cage at night. Lalonde responded by saying, "Yes, that is true." Lalonde told the deputy wherever the child has been put to sleep, the child "gets into everything." Lalonde indicated she had been locking the child in the cage for approximately two weeks.
A more detailed search of the home where the child was being cared for turned up an active marijuana grow in the basement with 23 live growing plants, "121.9 grams of marijuana that was dried and ready for use, and extensive equipment for ventilating the room, lights, and irrigation."