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Port Arthur woman sentenced to 20 years for child abuse

“She will be treated far better in prison than she ever treated these kids and she has demonstrated no remorse,” a prosecutor said.

BEAUMONT, Texas — A Port Arthur woman received three concurrent 20-year prison sentences Wednesday for abusing three children.

Krystal Nicole Kirbow was sentenced on Wednesday by 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West.

Kirbow previously pleaded guilty to three charges of injury to a child and as part of the plea, the sentence was capped for each charge at 20 years. Three other injury to a child charges were dropped as part of her plea deal.

Because the sentences will run concurrently, she will only serve 20 years.

In December 2022 Dylan Michael Wiggins got 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to three of six injury to a child charges in the same case. according to file stories.

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Port Arthur man to spend 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to 3 of 6 child abuse charges

As part of his deal three other charges were dropped and he was sentenced to three concurrent 10-year sentences.

Kirbow's defense attorney Wendell Radford argued Wednesday that because Wiggins had received a 10-year sentence that should be appropriate for Kirbow.

Prosecutor Tatiana Zelezniak disagreed saying that the children were more afraid of Kirbow and that her prior felony convictions and other factors should get her the full 20-year sentence.

“She will be treated far better in prison than she ever treated these kids, and she has demonstrated no remorse,” Zelezniak said in court on Wednesday.

During sentencing Judge West likened the abuse to torture telling Kirbow, "they weren’t just spanked too hard once or twice, they were tortured by you!” 

West noted from the bench that the children were duct-taped, made to urinate in a room they were locked in and beaten on the bottoms of their feet to hide the bruises.

One of the girls was beaten so badly on her bottom that she could not sit properly and was happy to show the bruises when she was able to tell an adult about the abuse Judge West recounted.

West also had harsh words for Wiggins when she sentenced him in December 2022 saying "if I could, I would sentence you for the rest of your life so that you could not procreate again, to make sure you never had the ability to have a child."

In October 2020 Port Arthur Police were sent to a home in reference to a welfare check of two 7-year-old and 6-year-old girls and a 4-year-old boy after an anonymous caller reported several children at the home had injuries to their bodies and faces according to an affidavit in the case.

All three victims had several abrasions and circular bruises up and down their legs. They said Kirbow whipped them with a cooking spoon all over their body, according to the affidavit.

All three victims also told police they were not fed everyday, according to the affidavit.

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