Inset, left to right: Bruce Anglin and Samantha Anglin (Sixth Judicial District Attorney's Office). Background: Luna County Jail in N.M. (Google Maps).
A New Mexico man is going to prison for abusing a 6-year-old child by locking her inside an outdoor shed surrounded by barbed wire for more than 24 hours without electricity or running water.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Jennifer DeLaney on Monday sentenced Bruce Anglin to 7 1/2 years in a state correctional facility followed by 4 1/2 years of supervised probation. His wife, Samantha Anglin, received a suspended three-year sentence and was placed on supervised probation, authorities announced.
DeLaney handed down the sentences after Bruce Anglin pleaded guilty to six charges, including two counts of third-degree child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse and false-imprisonment offenses. Samantha Anglin had previously pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree child abuse.
According to a press release from the Sixth Judicial District Attorney's Office, the case began June 20, 2025, when Luna County Sheriff's deputies responded to a call about a child believed to be locked in "an outside metal shed" on a rural property near Lewis Flats and Pojoaque Roads.
Upon arriving, first responders found the property's entrance gate locked. After announcing his presence and activating his emergency lights, a deputy gained access through a barbed-wire fence.
"While walking around the property, [the deputy] heard a child's voice calling out from an outside shed," the release states. "He located a 6-year-old girl locked inside of the shed, with no electricity or running water but had a water bottle. She was able to communicate with the officer through a broken window. The officer was able to discern that the child had been locked inside the shed for more than 24 hours and that her parents and younger sister were currently in town."
The deputy quickly forced his way into the shed to assist the victim.
Prosecutors said the child was living inside in "deplorable, filthy conditions."
"She had visible bruises, a swollen eye, and told the medics that she had eaten very little the previous day," the release states.
Emergency medical personnel immediately transported her to Mimbres Memorial Hospital for treatment.
When questioned by detectives, Bruce Anglin admitted to locking the girl in the shed as punishment, Albuquerque Fox affiliate KRQE reported. He and his wife were subsequently arrested and held without bond while awaiting trial.
Prosecutors said Samantha Anglin addressed the court during her husband's sentencing hearing, detailing the years of abuse that she and her two children had suffered at his hands.
The state had sought the maximum 12-year prison sentence. Bruce Anglin's defense attorney requested a suspended sentence and credit for the 454 days he had spent in presentence confinement.
As a condition of his probation, Bruce Anglin is prohibited from having any contact with children.
Samantha Anglin received credit for 454 days of time served and formally relinquished her parental rights to both of her children.