The Nation - News from Aug. 3, 1988

A woman convicted of 115 sex crimes against children under her supervision in a day-care center was sentenced in Newark, N.J., to 47 years in prison. Superior Court Judge William F. Harth imposed the sentence on Margaret Kelly Michaels after a three-hour hearing in which she proclaimed her innocence. She would be eligible for parole after 14 years. Michaels, 26, was convicted April 15 on 115 of 131 counts of sexual assault involving 19 children, child endangerment involving those 19 and a 20th child, and of making threats. Prosecutors said the charges against Michaels constituted one of the most extensive mass sexual abuse cases ever tried in the United States. During Michaels’ trial, 19 former students at the Wee Care Day Nursery in Maplewood testified Michaels performed sexual acts on them, forced them to perform sexual acts on her and engaged in nude sex play. The abuse occurred over a period of months during the 1984-85 school year.