Ex-Worker in Beatrice Abuse Case Gets Prison Time
(KTNC) -- A former worker at the Beatrice State Developmental Center has been sentenced to at least nine years in prison for abusing residents there in 2011.
Matthew Pangborn pleaded no contest to abusing and strangling three BSDC residents in 2011. Gage County District Judge Paul Korslund sentenced Pangborn to at least nine years, four months, in prison, with a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Gage County Attorney Roger Harris argued in favor of a harsh sentence, saying he had to speak for the victims, who were not able to speak for themselves. Harris agreed to drop four additional charges against Pangborn in a plea agreement.
Pangborn’s attorney, Brett McArthur, argued his client should receive a prison sentence no longer than those handed down to four other former BSDC workers who were convicted of abusing residents.
Pangborn’s sentence is the harshest in the five BSDC abuse cases. The four other defendants in the case received sentences ranging from six months to four years.
Pangborn had been convicted and sentenced earlier, but the Nebraska Supreme Court threw out the case and ordered a retrial.
© Nebraska Radio Network
MOST VIEWED STORIES
Fatal Missouri crash claims Atchison man
Brown Co Commissioner plans to resign
10-year-old St. Joseph child shot, hospitalized
Five injured, including two critically, in St. Joseph crash
Troy man convicted of sexual battery
One injured, one arrested, after Atchison fight
Man arrested in Brown Co subject to deportation
Actress, filmmaker plans Benedictine College visit
Man arrested after armed carjacking in St. Joseph
A Saturday of celebrations planned in Atchison
Richardson County Fair royalty crowned
Two local lakes added to public health advisory list
Flags fly in KS for political violence remembrance
Two hurt, one cited, in Atchison wreck
McLouth man injured in Leavenworth Co wreck
ATCO Sheriff seeks hit and run driver
LATEST STORIES
RELATED STORIES
USDA Boss Blasts Railroads for Rail Car Shortage
More Storms Possible this Weekend
Red Cross says Learn to Swim Before Heading to Pool or Lake
Morel Mushroom Season Underway in Nebraska
Nebraska Among States Considering Legalizing Industrial Hemp
Fewer Cancer Specialists Practicing in Rural Areas
Study Shows Drop in Nebraska Groundwater Levels
Company Plans to Open Biodiesel Plant in SE Nebraska
Midwest Faces Propane Shortage
Governor Heineman Calls for Tax Cuts in State of the State Speech