Plea deal reached over children kept in cage

KOKOMO, IN (AP) - A prosecutor says he has reluctantly agreed to a plea deal with a Greentown couple accused of keeping their adopted children in a wire cage.

Howard County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mark McCann says he agreed to the deal that will allow Teresa and Jay Moody to avoid jail time to save the young victims any further suffering.

Under the agreement, the Moodys pleaded guilty to child neglect and will be placed on supervised probation for two years. They are also prohibited from being foster parents.

An 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were removed from the Moodys' home in December 2005 and placed in foster care.

According to court documents, the couple confined the children in a wire cage at their horse farm.

The couple's attorney, Mike Bolinger, told The Associated Press that there were many people who didn't want the case to go to trial.

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