LEWISBURG – A Union County woman who a prosecutor accused of treating a young girl with mental issues like a dog has been placed on probation with restrictive conditions.
Judge Michael T. Hudock on Tuesday prefaced his sentencing of Melissa Lin Keiser, 39, of New Columbia, by saying people on both sides would be angry with it.
Keister was found guilty in September of endangering the welfare of a child by starving the girl and making her sleep on a wooden floor in her underwear.
Union County District Attorney D. Peter Johnson argued for a state prison sentence while defense attorney Peter T. Campana sought probation or a finding of guilt without further penalty.
Campana claimed Keiser thought she was properly caring for the young girl and did not think the way she treated her was criminal.
Johnson accused Keister of treating the girl “as a prisoner of war,” seeking to control her every movement.
It is time for her to learn what it is like to be under someone’s control, he said, advocating jail time.
The victim told an interviewer for the preparation of a presentence report that she wanted Keister to go to prison, Hudock noted.
Because the victim was under the supervision of Children and Youth, Hudock asked without expecting an answer where were the supervisors’ supervisors.
The judge acknowledged it was a serious offense but said neither probation nor a lengthy prison sentence was appropriate.
He placed Keister on three years’ probation, the first four months of which she will be confined to home except for a few exceptions. She also must complete 250 hours of community service within nine months.
The sentence is not effective until Jan. 3 because the judge said no GPS device is available until then.
Johnson said he was disappointed with the sentence. He had argued anything less than a prison sentence would depreciate the nature of crime. He cited the frailty of the victim and the emotional harm she suffered.
Keister had testified on her own behalf at trial, denying that she mistreated the girl for which she obtained guardianship after she took her into her home in 2013 because of concerns the mother was not providing proper care.
She acknowledged forcing the girl to sleep in a square taped to the bedroom’s hardwood floor sometimes without blankets but said it was done for safety reasons because she had tried to jump out a window.
She denied the starving allegation, claiming she withheld food only when the girl gorged on something close to a meal.
Keister’s six children, whom she homeschooled, also lived in the house.
Evidence was presented that the girl gained 28 pounds and grew 2 inches within six months after being removed from home in 2018.
The girl attended the three-day trial but did not testify because Hudock found her to be incompetent.
Keister had said after being found guilty she planned an appeal, but she gave no indication in court if that still was the case given the sentence.
Campana noted the conviction will prevent her from being approved to homeschool her children.
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