Drifter Sentenced To 37 Years For Torturing Child

PORTAGE, Wis. -- A drifter who helped torture an 11-year-old boy is sentenced to 37 years in prison.

Twenty-one-year-old Michaela Clerc and her gang scalded, whipped and starved the child and stuffed him into a closet in a rented house in Portage.

The boy’s mother, Tammie Garlin, was found dead, buried behind the house.

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Related - Woman in torture case gets 37 years

PORTAGE (AP) - A drifter accused of helping her gang torture an 11-year-old boy was sentenced Tuesday to 37 years in prison.

Michaela Clerc, 21, and her gang scalded, whipped and starved the child and stuffed him in a closet in the house they rented in Portage. Investigators discovered the body of the boy's mother, Tammie Garlin, buried behind the house.

Clerc pleaded no contest to four charges in February and was sentenced Tuesday by Columbia County Circuit Judge Alan White.

She got 25 years in prison on a mayhem charge, seven years on a child abuse charge and five years on a charge of causing mental harm to a child. The sentences will run consecutively.
Clerc was sentenced to three years in jail on a false imprisonment charge to run at the same time as the others. White also sentenced her to 25 years of extended supervision.

Investigators said Clerc roamed the country with a band of identity thieves that included the boy, his sister and their mother. They survived by stealing people's identities and running small-time scams.

The group settled in Portage, about 40 miles north of Madison, in February 2007 because they wanted to see snow, according to court documents.

Two others charged in the torture and killing have agreed to plea deals but not yet been sentenced. The case against a 16-year-old who was in the gang has been moved to juvenile court.

Link - Leader-Telegram Online