By . Associated Press Reporter . A mother who starved her four young . sons and kept them in a filthy Denver apartment covered in feces could . spend up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to her . second offense of child abuse. Prosecutors . said the case involving Lorinda Bailey, 36, was among the most horrific . they had ever seen, but the state's child abuse laws kept them from . pursuing harsher penalties because the children, ages 2 to 6, did not . suffer serious physical injuries. Six other charges were dropped in exchange for Bailey's guilty plea to a single felony count. Nightmare mom: Lorinda Bailey, 36, seen here in 2013, pleaded guilty to a second offense of child abuse on Friday in exchange, six other counts are being dropped . 'The way the child abuse statue reads, . this was a disposition we thought would hold her accountable as best we . could under the law,' said Lynn Kimbrough, a spokeswoman for the Denver . District Attorney's Office. Police say Bailey and the boy's father, Wayne Sperling, 66, kept their sons in an home filled with cat excrement and buzzing with flies. The . children were not potty-trained and could communicate only in grunts . when authorities removed them from the home in October. They were . alerted by an emergency room doctor, who noticed that the youngest boy . was unwashed, reeked of cigarette smoke and had bruises consistent with . pinching. Doctors couldn’t find any medical records at all for the five-year-old. Wayne Sperling, left, and Lorinda Bailey, right, are accused of neglecting their four young boys and keeping them in a filthy Denver apartment full of cat feces and flies . 'Sick': In 2006, Bailey's children were found covered in dirt and hungry after neighbors saw them playing in the road. She and Sperling were put on probation and ordered to take parenting classes . Monstrous: Officials said that Bailey and Sperling's treatment of their children was the worst case of abuse they have every seen . Sperling . told investigators he was the primary guardian for the boys. Bailey . said she was living in another apartment in the same building but . saw the boys most days. The elderly father has . pleaded not guilty and faces a hearing in October. Bailey remains . free on bond pending her sentencing. Neighbors . said they previously called social services with concerns about the . family, but the agency would not publicly discuss the case for . confidentiality reasons. The couple lost custody of other children amid similar allegations. Officers . found rotten food, trash and insects in the apartment in October 2006, . after passers-by reported two young children playing in the street. The . children mostly grunted and pointed to communicate. Bailey and Sperling pleaded guilty in June 2007 to misdemeanor child abuse and lost custody of their three oldest children. The latest case warranted felony charges because it was a repeat child abuse offense, Kimbrough said. The four boys are now improving in foster care and living together, she said. Charged: Sperling and Bailey were arrested last October and charged with child abuse after their sons were found in filthy conditions . Scene: A man walks past the residence of Sperling, where the four boys were found in deplorable conditions. Police records show that officers had previously responded to complaints .
Lorinda Bailey, 36, pleaded guilty to a single count of abuse in exchange for having six other charges dropped .
Bailey's husband Wayne Sperling, 66, pleaded not guilty in the case .
Their four sons were found in deplorable conditions in Sperling's home which was full of cat feces and flies .
The boys, aged two to six, could communicate only in grunts, were malnourished and weren’t toilet trained .
By . Associated Press Reporter . A mother who starved her four young . sons and kept them in a filthy Denver apartment covered in feces could . spend up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to her . second offense of child abuse. Prosecutors . said the case involving Lorinda Bailey, 36, was among the most horrific . they had ever seen, but the state's child abuse laws kept them from . pursuing harsher penalties because the children, ages 2 to 6, did not . suffer serious physical injuries. Six other charges were dropped in exchange for Bailey's guilty plea to a single felony count. Nightmare mom: Lorinda Bailey, 36, seen here in 2013, pleaded guilty to a second offense of child abuse on Friday in exchange, six other counts are being dropped . 'The way the child abuse statue reads, . this was a disposition we thought would hold her accountable as best we . could under the law,' said Lynn Kimbrough, a spokeswoman for the Denver . District Attorney's Office. Police say Bailey and the boy's father, Wayne Sperling, 66, kept their sons in an home filled with cat excrement and buzzing with flies. The . children were not potty-trained and could communicate only in grunts . when authorities removed them from the home in October. They were . alerted by an emergency room doctor, who noticed that the youngest boy . was unwashed, reeked of cigarette smoke and had bruises consistent with . pinching. Doctors couldn’t find any medical records at all for the five-year-old. Wayne Sperling, left, and Lorinda Bailey, right, are accused of neglecting their four young boys and keeping them in a filthy Denver apartment full of cat feces and flies . 'Sick': In 2006, Bailey's children were found covered in dirt and hungry after neighbors saw them playing in the road. She and Sperling were put on probation and ordered to take parenting classes . Monstrous: Officials said that Bailey and Sperling's treatment of their children was the worst case of abuse they have every seen . Sperling . told investigators he was the primary guardian for the boys. Bailey . said she was living in another apartment in the same building but . saw the boys most days. The elderly father has . pleaded not guilty and faces a hearing in October. Bailey remains . free on bond pending her sentencing. Neighbors . said they previously called social services with concerns about the . family, but the agency would not publicly discuss the case for . confidentiality reasons. The couple lost custody of other children amid similar allegations. Officers . found rotten food, trash and insects in the apartment in October 2006, . after passers-by reported two young children playing in the street. The . children mostly grunted and pointed to communicate. Bailey and Sperling pleaded guilty in June 2007 to misdemeanor child abuse and lost custody of their three oldest children. The latest case warranted felony charges because it was a repeat child abuse offense, Kimbrough said. The four boys are now improving in foster care and living together, she said. Charged: Sperling and Bailey were arrested last October and charged with child abuse after their sons were found in filthy conditions . Scene: A man walks past the residence of Sperling, where the four boys were found in deplorable conditions. Police records show that officers had previously responded to complaints .
Lorinda Bailey, 36, was among the most horrific . charges were dropped in exchange for Bailey's guilty plea to a single felony count. Nightmare pleaded guilty to a second offense of child abuse Bailey and the boy's father, Wayne Sperling, 66, excrement and buzzing with flies. The . children were not potty-trained and could communicate only filthy Denver apartment full of cat feces and not publicly discuss the case for . their sons were found in filthy conditions .