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YORK COUNTY, Neb. (WKRC) – A York County woman has been sentenced to 15 months in jail after pleading no contest to charges stemming from the use of her minor daughter to distribute controlled substances, court records show.
Shantell Perkins, 36, of Seward, was sentenced effective Jan. 12, reports KOLN, after pleading no contest to an amended charge of attempted child abuse, a Class 3 or 3A felony. Authorities said Perkins forced her teen daughter to deliver prescription drugs, including Xanax, morphine, hydrocodone and OxyContin, across South Dakota and Nebraska since at least 2018.
The investigation began after the girl disclosed to a therapist that her mother had coerced her into making drug deliveries for several years, the outlet reported. The girl reported completing at least 50 deliveries in multiple communities and said she was never paid. Investigators said Perkins allegedly manipulated her daughter through promises of gifts or threats of punishment.
An arrest affidavit, according to KOLN, also outlined allegations of physical abuse and neglect. The children reported finding Perkins unconscious from pill use, which she attributed to seizures. One child said they feared finding their mother dead. The children also described being whipped with a belt or coat hanger.
All three children have been removed from Perkins’ custody.
A second defendant, Terry Threlkeld, 62, was also charged in the case. Threlkeld was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation after pleading no contest to child abuse.