Indiana man gets 24 years for abuse of granddaughter

An Anderson man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for abusing his 15-year-old granddaughter, who authorities say was brought to a central Indiana hospital weighing only about 40 pounds.

The Indianapolis Star reports the 59-year-old man was sentenced Friday by a Madison County judge. He pleaded guilty to 17 charges, including neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily injury, criminal confinement and battery against a disabled person.

Court documents indicate the teen was starved, beaten, forced to eat human excrement, and locked in a room with little more than a mattress, space heater and bucket.

She weighed less than 40 pounds when she was hospitalized in December. The now-16-year-old girl has physical and mental disabilities. She now lives in a safe place and weighs about 100 pounds.