Port Huron, MI – A St. Clair County woman is facing multiple felony charges after investigators say she subjected two foster children to years of severe abuse, including locking them inside dog cages.
Sarah Elise Hager, 39, of Port Huron, is charged with one count of torture and two counts each of first-degree and second-degree child abuse, according to court records.
Authorities say the alleged abuse occurred between 2017 and 2021 while the children were in her care in Emmett Township, about 20 miles west of Port Huron.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the two children, a boy and a girl whose identities are being withheld because they are minors told investigators they were repeatedly beaten and confined in dark rooms and a dog cage inside the home.
One of the children told investigators that after wetting the bed, Hager allegedly beat him and rubbed his face in urine-soaked sheets, according to the affidavit.
Investigators say the allegations surfaced years later, ultimately leading to Hager’s arrest by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 27.
She was formally charged on March 3 with five felony counts.
Under Michigan law, torture is defined as intentionally causing cruel or extreme physical or mental pain and suffering to someone under a person’s custody or control.
If convicted, Hager could face up to life in prison.