Aaron Hickman, 21, will spend two years in state prison for pouring bleach into milk that his young nephews drank.
SYRACUSE -- The man who admitted to pouring bleach into milk that his two young nephews drank last May, will spend two years in state prison.
Aaron Hickman, 21, received the minimum sentence in Onondaga County Court Friday morning. The offense carries a penalty of two to seven years in prison.
The Onondaga District Attorney's Office says it originally asked the Judge for a five year sentence, considering the age of the boys and Hickman's mental health state.
"It's apparent that the defendant did have some mental limitations, but there's no documents to support what those limitations were, or the extent of them," says Cindi Newtown, an Assistant District Attorney.
Hickman was staying with his brother, his brother's girlfriend, and their 1-year-old and 3-year-old sons at a home on Seymour Street for about two months.
Hickman and his brother had an argument and Hickman was told to leave the residence. That's when he poured bleach into a bottle of milk in his brother's refrigerator.
His nephews were sick for a few hours, hospitalized for diarrhea and vomiting.
"The judge's reasoning was based upon the lack of any serious physical injury to the children," Newtown says. "Based on the fact that the children weren't seriously injured and that the defendant lacked any precious crime history, the judge felt two years was appropriate."
The young boys' mother, Shamara Hale, spoke to CNYCentral back in May. "This is the worst experience ever because my kids could have died," said Hale. "I would've had to plan two funerals."
Hale said her 1-year-old son drank two bottles of the milk, and her 3-year-old son drank one cup.
Dr. Ross Sullivan, an emergency medicine attending at Upstate University Hospital told us that swallowing a little bleach not be harmful; however, swallowing large quantities of bleach can cause severe damage.
