Woman accused of abusing 7 children facing new charges

A woman accused of abusing and locking seven children in a room is facing new charges.

Paula Sinclair, 54, was originally charged with one count of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and one count of injury to a child. Prosecutors have added four additional charges: three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated kidnapping, court records show.

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The children were discovered locked in a room in a home on Falcon Creek Court in Long Meadow Farms on Nov. 22nd following a tip to CPS of neglect.

The kids - two of whom were wearing diapers - were age 13 to 16 at the time, according to court documents. Investigators say the room, which had boarded up windows, smelled of urine and feces.

Sinclair is the adopted mother of the kids but according to court records, the kids said she was hardly around. They told investigators they were left with Allen Richardson. They said he hit them repeatedly when they disobeyed or even were just too loud, striking them with things like a wooden board, a broom, a bat and even the buckle of a belt. The kids told investigators they were never allowed downstairs in the home and were fed only twice daily. They were allegedly fed only rice and beans.

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