Vicksburg Woman Sentenced For Child Neglect

VICKSBURG, MS. –Judge James Chaney sentenced a Vicksburg woman, Carolyn Tedeton, to five years in prison, with four years to serve, after she pled guilty to child neglect.

In 2023, Otis Scott, Tedeton’s co-defendant, was convicted of felony child abuse and received a life sentence. The victims in both cases were Tedeton’s children, one of whom suffered a subdural hematoma, a sprained neck, and retinal hemorrhaging.

During Scott’s trial in 2023, Assistant DA Southerland questioned him about why he didn’t report to the authorities earlier that it was the child’s mother who had caused the injuries.

“If you saw that mom shake your baby and you didn’t report it then it’s just as bad as if you’ve done it,” Southerland said. “You already lost your kids, they took them from you on the day you abused them so why didn’t you say it if that’s what happened.”

Scott continued to state he didn’t want to lose his kids, which is why he didn’t speak of that matter during the trial.

Tedeton received the maximum sentence for child neglect.

An estimated 600,000 children (unique incidents) were victims of abuse and neglect in 2021, the most recent year for which there is national data, according to the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services.

Editor’s note: The injury to the infant has been updated. We incorrectly listed renal and not retinal hemorrhaging.