CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — A Cheektowaga woman will spend the next eight years in prison for forcibly holding a child victim in her home.
Carol Steinagle, 58, was sentenced Tuesday morning in State Supreme Court. In addition to the prison sentence, Steinagle will also serve five years of post-release supervision.
Investigators say Steinagle, and her boyfriend James K. McGonnell, 44, of Cheektowaga, forced the child victim to stay in a bedroom or garage for extended periods of time inside of McGonnell's home on Queens Drive in Cheektowaga.
Prosecutors said in 2020, the abuse took place over a 26-month period, between November 2017 through January 2020
Steinagle and McGonnell were the victim's caregivers and threatened the victim if they did not stay inside the bedroom. Officials say the child was also denied basic needs, including food, clothing and access to a bathroom.
McGonnell and Steinagle pleaded guilty to one count of Kidnapping in the Second Degree in March 2023. McGonnell was also sentenced to eight years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision in August 2023.
An order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim for the next 17 years.