Stacey Ann Louder (left) and Amanda Lynn Gregorio (Luzerne County Correctional Facility).
A Pennsylvania mother and grandmother have been ordered to serve lengthy prison terms for the repeated abuse of an 11-year-old girl, who authorities said was beaten, tied to a bed, deprived of food and forced to eat cat food.
Amanda Gregorio, the child’s mother, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 to 40 years behind bars. She had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and conspiracy to commit endangering the welfare of a child, authorities said.
The girl’s grandmother, Stacey Louder, received a sentence of eight to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and conspiracy to commit endangering the welfare of a child.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the case surfaced in August 2024 when emergency crews were called to the family’s home in Luzerne County for an 11-year-old girl experiencing seizure-like symptoms. While the child was hospitalized, Gregorio allegedly acknowledged giving her 50 milligrams of Benadryl and 60 milligrams of melatonin before the medical episode, leading hospital staff to contact authorities.
What investigators uncovered next, prosecutors said, was months of severe abuse. The girl weighed only 50 pounds and told investigators she had been bound to her bed for extended periods, forced to urinate and defecate while restrained, and watched through cameras set up in her bedroom to keep her from getting away. Authorities also said Gregorio admitted giving the child cat food and told a witness she restrained her daughter because Louder was “making” her do it.
“This home was supposed to be a safe haven for this child, but instead, the defendants turned it into a house of horrors as they, time and time again, subjected the girl to a spectrum of abuse,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a news release. “We commend the Court for recognizing this heinous behavior and the long-lasting trauma inflicted on this brave child.”
At Wednesday’s sentencing, prosecutors showed surveillance images of Gregorio sitting next to the girl while the child was strapped to her bed. Luzerne County Detective George Keifer testified that the investigation was “by far one of the most horrific cases” of his career, according to a report by The Citizens’ Voice.
The child also addressed the court through a victim impact statement read by prosecutors.
“I want you to stay in jail. I want you to suffer. What you did is very bad,” the girl said. “I know you’re going to get mad at me. I don’t care. You made me sad.”
Prosecutors argued both women deserved the maximum punishment, calling them “absolute monsters” who treated the girl “worse than a caged animal,” according to The Citizens’ Voice.
Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas, describing the case as one of “extreme cruelty,” said it was difficult to comprehend how a mother and grandmother could inflict such abuse on their own family member before imposing the lengthy prison terms.
“It is hard for this court to fathom how someone can act in such a cruel fashion, not only to another human being but to their own flesh and blood,” he said, per the Citizens’ Voice.
Authorities said the girl, now in trauma therapy, has made significant progress since being removed from the home. “She’s grown leaps and bounds,” a Luzerne County Children and Youth caseworker reportedly testified at the hearing.
Both defendants were credited with 450 days of time served.
