Teen who bound kids with duct tape gets 10 years - CBS 5 - KPHO

Teen who bound kids with duct tape gets 10 years

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Sadie Johnson Sadie Johnson
PHOENIX (CBS5) -

A teen convicted of a fatal fire in which two children were bound with tape was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison.

Sadie Johnson also was ordered to lifetime probation for two counts of child abuse. She had been charged with arson, kidnapping and discharging of a weapon within city limits.

Firefighters found three kids inside a burning home in Guadalupe, including a 4-year-old and a toddler, in June 2011. Everyone got out OK, but two of the children were bound with masking tape.

Police said Johnson, who was 17 years old at the time, first told them someone had set the couch on fire and that there were three kids in the home. She said when she tried to go into the home, she fainted from the smoke, police said.

In addition to finding a 4-year-old near a bedroom, firefighters said they found a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old in a bathroom bound and gagged with masking tape. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department had taken seven reports at the home since April 2011 and said all incidents were threatening.

Johnson told investigators two different stories, according to the police report. At first, she said she was asleep at the kitchen table listening to headphones when she heard the click of a gun and saw two men wearing black holding a gun to her head, the report states.

After a warrant was served, some flaws were found in Johnson's story, the report states. In a second interview, Johnson she said she had been upset with her mother for not showing her attention since April, the report states.

Johnson then admitted she was responsible for all the crimes, police said.

The teen and two toddlers were taken to Maricopa County Medical Center and were treated for smoke inhalation.

Johnson was tried as an adult.

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