Illinois Man Receives Sentence For Neglecting His Mother

A Will County man has received a 4 ½-year prison sentence for neglecting his elderly mother.

Prosecutors say 51-year-old Mark Kuech of New Lenox was sentenced Thursday, three months after pleading guilty to criminal abuse for leaving his 79-year-old mother, Margaret Kuech, unattended in a basement bedroom for extended periods of time between May and November of 2012.

The woman, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, was hospitalized in November 2012 after paramedics found her severely malnourished and weighing less than 90 pounds. Authorities say she also suffered from extensive bedsores and was disoriented.

They say her condition had been under control when she was being cared for by Kuech's wife, but the woman became her son's responsibility when his wife left.

The elderly woman is now in a nursing home.