North Logan grandmother pleads guilty to child abuse

Bonnie Third, 54, is being charged with child abuse, a second-degree felony.

LOGAN — A 54-year-old North Logan woman accused of child abuse has accepted a plea deal to lesser charges and will avoid any jail time.

Bonnie Third appeared in 1st District Court Monday morning. She was originally charged with child abuse, a second-degree felony. Under the deal, she pleaded guilty to a class A misdemeanor. As part of the terms, the charges against her will be dropped if she participates in a parenting class and avoids further criminal convictions during the next 18-months.

In May, Third and 33-year-old Cindy Bullock along with 31-year-old twin brothers Quinton James Smith and Merritt Smith were accused of spanking a seven-year-old child in a type of ritual called the “whipping tunnel.”

In this type of punishment, the child was forced to crawl underneath the adults as they stood above him and spanked him with their hand or an object.

Prosecutors said, after the child reported the spanking to a school teacher, Bullock and Merritt Smith placed him in a room without his toys and stuffed animals. He was kept from having contact with other people for an extended period of time.

The child was latter taken and placed under the care of Child and Family Services.

In September, Merritt Smith was sentenced to 45-days in jail after previously pleading guilty to child abuse and retaliation against a witness, both class A misdemeanors.

A week later, Bullock was sentenced to 60-days in jail after also pleading guilty to the same charges.

The charges against Quinton James Smith have been dismissed without prejudice.

Third was ordered to appear again in court for a review hearing April 2016. At that time, the charges against her will be dropped if she has successfully completed the terms of her plea.

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