Fairfield County couple sentenced for keeping daughter in shed

By Mary Beth Lane

LANCASTER, Ohio — A Fairfield County couple accused of child abuse last year for locking their 15-year-old adopted daughter out of the house and making her sleep in a backyard shed have been sentenced to probation.

Fairfield County Municipal Court acting Judge James Fais sentenced Douglas and Kim Sherman to 180 days in jail each, which was suspended for two years on probation.

They also agreed to give up their parental rights and permanently release the girl to the custody of Child Protective Services, and not to have any contact with her.

They were sentenced on Friday after they took a negotiated plea agreement and pleaded no contest to endangering children, a first-degree misdemeanor, court records show.

Mr. Sherman, 64, and Mrs. Sherman, 61, of 10200 Lithopolis Rd. in Bloom Township, initially were charged with child endangering as a felony, but prosecutors said there was no evidence that the girl had been seriously physically harmed.