HOUSTON — A Houston-area woman was sentenced to decades in prison for her role in the abuse of her two children.
Emily Aust, 30, her and boyfriend at the time of her arrest, Austin Reid, 25, were arrested in 2020 when investigators were able to unravel the lies they told about what happened to Aust's two kids.
"Texas laws give the same range of punishment for an abuser and for cases like this where a parent consciously and repeatedly puts a child in harm’s way by leaving them with an abuser," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "This was not a one-time mistake or some awful accident, this was a pattern of intentional abuse. The children in our community deserve better."
Aust pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse last year. Last week, a judge issued her sentence of 40 years for both charges. Reid also pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Toddler beaten to death
Lucas, 2, was taken to Texas Children's Hospital on May 19, 2019, after the child had been left alone with Reid.
Reid told investigators the boy drowned while playing in the tub.
Investigators examined Lucas' body and found multiple injuries, including bruises and cigarette burns, consistent with prolonged child abuse. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Infant beaten
At the time of Lucas' death, Aust was pregnant with Reid's son, who was born in late December.
Five weeks after the child's birth, Reid took him to the hospital with a dislocated elbow. Doctors determined that the newborn also had a brain bleed and other head trauma. They said it was from being violently shaken.
The child was taken away from Aust and Reid.
Drugs
Aust admitted to using drugs -- including meth, weed and Xanax -- when the children were injured. She said her drug use and drinking got even worse after Lucas' death.
"All of this happened because she allowed it to happen by ignoring the constant signs of child abuse, including the death of her first child," Assistant District Attorney Gilbert Sawtelle said. "If authorities hadn’t taken away the baby, he likely would have suffered the same fate because nothing changed and nothing was going to change."
When they searched the apartment where the abuse took place, investigators found spoons with white powder, lighters and packs of synthetic marijuana.
Prison time
Aust's sentences will run concurrently. She can't appeal the conviction or the punishment and she has to serve at least half the time before she's eligible for parole.