A Grovetown woman accused of tying up her adult son more than three years ago will be released from jail after a Wednesday guilty plea.
Sarah Wadsworth, 51, pleaded guilty to exploiting and intimidating a disabled adult. Columbia County Superior Court Judge Sheryl Jolly sentenced Wadsworth to 10 years in prison, with credit for the three years and five months she’s been in jail.
Grovetown police and a Crimes Against the Vulnerable and Elderly task force investigator entered Wadsworth’s Whiskey Road residence in September 2019 after she denied an Adult Protective Services a visit with her son.
“He’s in the back tied up,” she told the authorities, Assistant District Attorney Ashley Muller said Wednesday. The 22-year-old’s arms were tied behind his back and his ankles were tied together, and had been so since at least the previous week, Muller said.
Tom McCants, an attorney with the Columbia County Public Defender’s Office, said Wadsworth’s kids were “all she ever talks about,” but she understood she would no longer be allowed contact with them. McCants said Wadsworth was attempting to control “fits of hitting” by the son, who had severe autism and Williams syndrome.
While in jail, Wadsworth underwent extensive mental evaluation and treatment, according to court records.
McCants and Jolly emphasized Wadsworth’s need to remain on her medication, which McCants said she only had a few days’ supply. Jolly said she needed to go to Serenity Behavioral Health, where she had received treatment, this week.
“Next week is too late,” Jolly said.
