DAYTON — A man has learned his sentence for his role in a “horrific abuse” case.
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On Wednesday, 39-year-old Kyle Knox was sentenced to 40-45.5 years in prison after being convicted of abusing and torturing a 9-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother.
Knox pleaded guilty to 110 counts against him, including aggravated arson, endangering children, and strangulation, last month.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, the investigation began in November 2024 when police were called to a home on Arlene Avenue. There, a resident reported finding two children walking in the street. The little girl told police they’d escaped from their house.
Police noticed the boy had severe swelling of the face and lips, as well as lacerations to his back. He was rushed to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where doctors said his injuries looked like he was a victim of torture.
Court documents previously obtained by News Center 7 show the children had been confined to one room in the house since June 2024. Police said that the room was full of trash, debris, and evidence of physical abuse.
Court documents also indicated that the girl told police Knox, who was their mother’s boyfriend, used lighters, belts, box cutters, and his fists to abuse her brother.
Both Knox and the mother, Kayla Shepherd, were indicted in the case.
Shepherd pleaded guilty to the six charges she was facing in April 2025. She’ll be sentenced at a later date.
“The systemic abuse these children went through was horrific. This defendant deserves every single day of his lengthy prison sentence for what he did to these precious children,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, Jr. said in a statement.
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