Mother sentenced to 50 years in baby neglect death

PEORIA -- A Peoria County judge has handed down a 50-year sentence to a 22-year-old mother for neglecting her infant son, who died from an infection brought on by a nearly week-old dirty diaper.

The defendant sentenced Monday, Tracy Hermann, was convicted of first-degree murder in the February 2008 death of 5-month-old Benjamin Sargent.

In June, Judge James Shadid sentenced the baby's father, 24-year-old James Sargent, to the maximum sentence of 100 years.

Prosecutors say the boy's diaper wasn't changed for at least five days and he wasn't fed for three to four days before he was found. Investigators say prolonged exposure to the unchanged diaper caused his skin to be eaten away and allowed bacteria to seep into his body, causing his death.