Utah mother pleads guilty to child abuse after malnourished son was found locked in a bathroom

A Toquerville mother who was accused of leaving her severely malnourished son locked in a bathroom has pleaded guilty to child abuse charges.

Brandy K. Jaynes, 36, pleaded guilty as charged Tuesday in 5th District Court to three counts of second-degree felony child abuse, according to her attorney. She faces a maximum penalty of one to 15 years in prison on each charge when she is sentenced on Aug. 28.

Defense attorney Edward Flint said his client pleaded guilty in an effort to shield her children from a trial, and to keep from dragging out the case — which garnered national media attention after she was arrested in January.

"Ultimately, the decision was focused on the trauma that her children are going through with the case pending in the courts," Flint said Tuesday.

In January, Brandy Jaynes' husband, 40-year-old Russell Orin Jaynes, took the 12-year-old boy — who weighed 30 pounds — to a local hospital for treatment after he discovered the child locked in a bathroom. Later, police found a filthy bathroom that was covered in feces and had empty cans of beans and a spoon in the shower.

The boy's two siblings told investigators that their brother had been in the bathroom for at least one year, though Flint said he doesn't believe the child was there for that long.

After an investigation, Russell Jaynes was charged with third-degree felony reckless child abuse, accused of not intervening sooner regarding his son's care. He is expected to be in court again July 31, when he may resolve his case, according to court records.

Flint has said that his client was overwhelmed by a child with "severe special needs."

He said Tuesday that he will ask the judge to consolidate the counts into a single charge and sentence her to jail.

The couple's children are in state custody.

jmiller@sltrib.com