Couple sentenced for chaining niece

DANVILLE -- An eastern Illinois couple will spend the next 18 months on probation for chaining their mentally disabled niece to a bed.

Vermilion County Judge Nancy Fahey also sentenced Barbara and Ronald Schwartz of Hoopeston to 25 hours of community service. Both pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawful restraint.

Barbara Schwartz told the court that she and her husband made a bad decision when they chained 43-year-old Paula Schwartz to the bed by her ankle with a dog chain and padlock. The couple say they chained her up while they went to a doctor's appointment.

Police found Paula Schwartz in March. A bottle of water and the coffee can that served as her toilet were near her on the floor.

Hoopeston is about 45 miles northeast of Champaign.