A New Mexico man has been sentenced to 7½ years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the confinement and abuse of a 6-year-old girl who was found locked inside an outdoor shed for more than 24 hours.
Bruce Anglin was sentenced Monday, September 21, by Sixth Judicial District Judge Jennifer DeLaney. He will serve 7½ years with the New Mexico Department of Corrections, followed by 4½ years of supervised probation. He also received credit for 454 days already spent in pre-sentence confinement.
The case began on June 20, 2025, when Luna County sheriff’s deputies responded to a rural property near Lewis Flats and Pojoaque roads after receiving a report that a child might be locked inside an outdoor shed.
When a deputy arrived, the property’s entrance was locked. The officer gained access through a barbed-wire fence and heard a child calling from a shed on the property. The 6-year-old was found inside, with no electricity or running water. She was able to communicate with the deputy through a broken window.
Investigators determined that the girl had been inside the shed for more than 24 hours while her parents and younger sister were in town. The child had a water bottle, but officials said she had eaten very little the previous day.
Deputies described the conditions inside the shed as filthy and deplorable. The girl had visible bruises and a swollen eye and was taken to Mimbres Memorial Hospital for medical treatment. Earlier court reporting also described the shed as hot and lacking basic living conditions.
Bruce Anglin later admitted to investigators that he had locked the child inside the shed as a form of punishment. He ultimately pleaded guilty to six charges, including two counts of third-degree child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse and two false-imprisonment-related offenses.
Prosecutors asked the court to impose the maximum 12-year prison sentence. Anglin’s defense requested a suspended sentence and credit for the time he had already spent in custody.
Judge DeLaney instead ordered the 7½-year prison term followed by 4½ years of supervised probation. One condition of Anglin’s probation prohibits him from having contact with children.
Samantha Anglin, who had previously pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree child abuse, was also sentenced. The judge imposed a three-year prison sentence but suspended the incarceration and placed her on supervised probation. She received credit for 454 days of pre-sentence confinement.
During the sentencing proceedings, Samantha Anglin spoke about what prosecutors described as years of abuse involving herself and the two children. She also formally relinquished her parental rights to both children.
The two children had previously been placed in state protective custody following the June 2025 investigation.
The sentencing brings a criminal case that began with a deputy hearing a child calling for help from behind a locked shed door to its latest court resolution. Bruce Anglin is now serving his prison sentence, while Samantha Anglin remains under supervised probation following the court’s decision to suspend her prison term.
