A woman who has been in the Thomas County Jail for more than two years entered guilty pleas in Thomas County Superior Court Tuesday to five counts of cruelty to children in the first degree.

Leslie Dawn Wilfred, 36, also entered a guilty plea to one count of theft by deception.

Wilfred was arrested in November 2008, and charged with six counts of cruelty to children. Bond was set at $50,000, but she remained in jail.

In January 2009, Wilfred was charged with two additional counts of cruelty to children and three counts of theft by deception. Bond was denied.

Judge Harry Jay Altman, who took Wilfred’s pleas Tuesday, has not set a sentencing date.

A Nov. 23, 2008, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office incident report says that on Nov. 13, 2008, a funeral was conducted at Rose City Pentecostal Church for twins Wilfred said she gave birth to after approximately 22 weeks of gestation.

Wilfred told investigators the babies were born Nov. 10, 2008, at Archbold Memorial Hospital, delivered by a Thomasville physician. The mother told investigators the babies died and were cremated.

The woman’s children, ages eight to 12 at the time, participated in the service.

According to witnesses, the children cried and were upset at the loss of the twins, allegedly a boy and a girl. It was later discovered there was no delivery of twins and that Wilfred had deceived church members, others and her family, the incident report says.

On Nov. 21, 2008, during a search of Wilfred’s residence, a homemade wooden box was

discovered in the master bedroom closet. The box, which was secured to the floor and walls with screws, contained a pillow and other bedding. The door to the closet had a lock on the outside.

The box, the report says, appeared to have confined a small child in it. Profanity was written on the walls of the box.

At the time of Wilfred’s arrest in late 2008, an officer said a 10-year-old boy had been held in the box.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.