Sentenced: Suspects Beat, Tortured & Ate food In Front Of Starving Child

[Sugar Cookie]

A McAlester couple accused of torturing a 10-year old girl now face an additional charge.

Ashley Dawn Marie Schardein, 24, and Billy James Menees, 27, were each charged in May with several counts related to the alleged child abuse and torture of the 10-year-old girl and a 4-year-old girl, according to documents at the Pittsburg County Courthouse.

According to court documents, [prosecutors filed an additional charge of conspiracy against the pair, alleging Schardein and Menees “did conspire to commit the crimes of child abuse, child abuse by torture, and child neglect” by “working together to devise ways to torture, abuse, and neglect” the 10-year-old girl.

The two are accused of torturing the 10-year-old girl “by excessively punishing with emotional and verbal abuse, physical abuse, including spanking, tying her hands and feet for long periods of time, shaving her head, not allowing her to use the restroom, forcing her to sleep on a concrete floor with no pillow, no blanket and intentionally keeping it cold in the room, restricting her diet to oatmeal, spinach and water, and/or forcing her to stand up for painfully long periods of time during the day sometimes in wet clothing under a cold fan.

Schardein is also accused of hitting in the back of the head and grabbing the arm of the 4-year-old while Menees is charged with “willfully permitting and allowing” the abuse, according to documents.

Other charges filed against Schardein and Menees include kidnapping and alleged instances of striking the 10-year-old girl with a large wooden paddle, wooden spoon, a sock stuffed with a bar of soap, a belt, and smashing the child’s head into a wall, documents state.

Last week, argument was heard by District 18 Special District Judge Brian McLaughlin on a Motion for Recusal of the Prosecution after the pair’s defense attorneys claim prosecutors moved forward “for a public arrest covered by the media” instead of moving forward with “a quiet surrender” the defense proposed for more than a week before the May 19 arrest of Schardein and Menees.

New charge filed in child torture case

A McAlester couple accused of torturing a 10-year old girl now face an additional charge.

www.mcalesternews.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A federal jury took less than an hour Thursday to find a McAlester couple guilty of abusing and neglecting a 10-year-old girl for more than a year.

Ashley Schardein, 26, and her husband, Billy Menees, 28, were each found guilty on counts of child abuse in Indian country and child neglect in Indian country.

The indictment filed against the pair states starting in January 2019 and continuing on into May 2020, Schardein and Menees "did willfully and maliciously cause harm and threaten harm, fail to protect from harm, and threaten harm, torture, and injure" the girl.

According to court documents, the pair is accused of abusing the girl by excessively punishing her with emotional and verbal abuse, physical abuse that including spanking, tying her hands and feet for long periods of time, shaving her head, not allowing her to use the restroom, and restricting her diet to oatmeal, spinach, and water.

Prosecutors originally charged the couple in May 2020 with child abuse by torture, kidnapping, conspiracy, and several charges of child abuse.

A state judge dismissed the charges against the couple in May 2021 due to their Native American status and the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma that stripped the state's criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans in what is defined by federal statute as "Indian Country." The pair was immediately taken into federal custody by federal agents and remained in custody.

The couple remains charged in Pittsburg County District Court for the alleged abuse of a 4-year-old girl. Schardein is accused of hitting in the back of the head and grabbing the arm of the 4-year-old while Menees is charged with "willfully permitting and allowing" the abuse, according to documents.

An affidavit filed in the case stated Menees told investigators the couple kept the girl in the room due to her behavioral issues and that he was usually at work during the day while Schardein stayed at home with the children.

The girl told investigators her head was shaved because "she had too many wetting accidents" with Menees claiming he shaved her head because he messed up a haircut, the affidavit stated.

Numerous bruises were also found on the girl, who said the bruises on her body came from being whipped with a barn paddle, a belt, and a sock with a bar of soap, the report states.

The documents also state the couple claimed the girl was self-harming and claimed they had video. Investigators reviewed the video and did not see the girl attempt self-harm.

Court records show the girl testified against the couple along with investigators and medical professionals who examined the child.

The couple unsuccessfully tried three times to have the indictments dismissed against the pair, claiming the federal government no longer had jurisdiction over the matter following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Castro-Huerta v. Oklahoma. The pair has also claimed the State of Oklahoma's child abuse statute being used by the federal government was unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti denied all three motions to dismiss the indictments along with a motion to suppress which claimed a search warrant filed for a cell phone used to obtain evidence against the couple was not written in "good faith."

A motion to have the case moved to Choctaw Nation District Court, where the couple would have faced less prison time, was also denied by DeGiusti.

Federal jury finds McAlester couple guilty of child abuse, neglect

Feb. 24—A federal jury took less than an hour Thursday to find a McAlester couple guilty of abusing and neglecting a 10-year-old girl for more than a year. Ashley Schardein, 26, and her husband, Billy...

news.yahoo.com

 

[Kitsune Faye]

Federal jury finds McAlester couple guilty of child abuse, neglect

Feb. 24—A federal jury took less than an hour Thursday to find a McAlester couple guilty of abusing and neglecting a 10-year-old girl for more than a year. Ashley Schardein, 26, and her husband, Billy...

news.yahoo.com

I hope they die. I’m the scapegoat child; my cousin’s the golden child. Ableism and colorism is why. How I’m not sticking needles full of heroin in my arms, a strung out junkie is astounding. Me and my cousin are tight however, and it hurts her that she saw me be the target of abuse by our grandmother, now that my father can’t do shit to me anymore. My father tortured me. Now he’s an invalid, and his bitch who did nothing takes care of him.

 

[thuumpr]

Give them the max - in gen pop

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A federal jury took less than an hour Thursday to find a McAlester couple guilty of abusing and neglecting a 10-year-old girl for more than a year.

Ashley Schardein, 26, and her husband, Billy Menees, 28, were each found guilty on counts of child abuse in Indian country and child neglect in Indian country.

The indictment filed against the pair states starting in January 2019 and continuing on into May 2020, Schardein and Menees "did willfully and maliciously cause harm and threaten harm, fail to protect from harm, and threaten harm, torture, and injure" the girl.

According to court documents, the pair is accused of abusing the girl by excessively punishing her with emotional and verbal abuse, physical abuse that including spanking, tying her hands and feet for long periods of time, shaving her head, not allowing her to use the restroom, and restricting her diet to oatmeal, spinach, and water.

Prosecutors originally charged the couple in May 2020 with child abuse by torture, kidnapping, conspiracy, and several charges of child abuse.

A state judge dismissed the charges against the couple in May 2021 due to their Native American status and the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma that stripped the state's criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans in what is defined by federal statute as "Indian Country." The pair was immediately taken into federal custody by federal agents and remained in custody.

Federal jury finds McAlester couple guilty of child abuse, neglect

Feb. 24—A federal jury took less than an hour Thursday to find a McAlester couple guilty of abusing and neglecting a 10-year-old girl for more than a year. Ashley Schardein, 26, and her husband, Billy...

news.yahoo.com

The fact that criminals have used this McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling to fight their prosecutions or use on appeal is sickening

 

[thuumpr]

Federal jury finds McAlester couple guilty of child abuse, neglect

Feb. 24—A federal jury took less than an hour Thursday to find a McAlester couple guilty of abusing and neglecting a 10-year-old girl for more than a year. Ashley Schardein, 26, and her husband, Billy...

news.yahoo.com

The fact that criminals have used this McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling to fight their prosecutions or use on appeal is sickening

There's A big plus in this.
First, it's A federal conviction - no early release. Just time off for good behavior.
Two, the sentences are worse than state sentencing.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

I read somewhere that some cases are going on prosecuted because of this ruling and'or the tribal lands are ill equipped to handle the cases.

 

[thuumpr]

I read somewhere that some cases are going on prosecuted because of this ruling and'or the tribal lands are ill equipped to handle the cases.

Do tribal lands have prison? Can tribal courts sentence an individual to federal prison?

 

[Sugar Cookie]

@thuumpr

I only skimmed the article so all I can recall is that it stated the tribal lands were ill equipped.

I will try to find the article again to see if it goes into detail as to why.

 

[thuumpr]

@thuumpr

I only skimmed the article so all I can recall is that it stated the tribal lands were ill equipped.

I will try to find the article again to see if it goes into detail as to why.

Oh I don't doubt it. I can't see there not being a supreme court case if someone in a federal prison were sentenced by a tribal court. And since McGirt v Oklahoma suggests that state and tribal courts aren't allowed to play together that someone in a state prison would not have been sentenced by a tribal court.

 

[agm8478]

This is sad and I've been hungry before but to be a child and hungry with no resources to correct the situation is a tragedy. So with that being said Fuck both of them and just kill'em both!

….sterilize both of them. Anyone who would do that to another human being should automatically forfeit their reproductive rights.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

April 8, 2025

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that McAlester residents Billy James Menees, age 30, and Ashley Dawn Marie Schardein, age 28, were sentenced on child abuse and neglect charges.

Menees was sentenced to 192 months of imprisonment for one count of Child Abuse in Indian Country and 192 months of imprisonment for one count of Child Neglect in Indian Country. The terms were ordered to be served concurrently.

In a separate hearing held on April 1, 2025, Schardein was sentenced to 240 months of imprisonment for one count of Child Abuse in Indian Country and 240 months of imprisonment for one count of Child Neglect in Indian Country. The terms were ordered to be served concurrently.

On February 23, 2023, Menees and Schardein were each found guilty by a federal jury at trial on charges of child abuse and neglect. According to investigators, on May 9, 2020, officers responding to a welfare call arrived at the shared residence of Menees and Schardein. Inside, they discovered an extremely malnourished and underweight 10 year old child, covered in bruises and confined to a barren, unfurnished room. At trial, the government presented evidence showing that beginning in January 2019, Menees and Schardein regularly isolated, confined, restrained, neglected, underfed, tortured, and beat the child over a 16 month period.

The crimes occurred in Pittsburg County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, and within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

“There is no justification for the abuse endured by the child victim in this case. What makes this particularly disturbing, is the treatment was at the hands of the people responsible for the child’s well-being and safety,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater. “Thanks to the vigilance of a caring third-party who reported the abuse, and the thorough investigation by the FBI and our law enforcement partners, justice has been served for these two defendants.”

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edok/pr/mcalester-couple-sentenced-child-abuse-and-neglect