A Thomas County woman who was released from prison in July after serving three years on a conviction involving her children is back behind bars.

Leslie Dawn Wilfred, who was released from prison on July 21, was charged 10 days later with parole violation. She is being held at the Thomas County Jail.

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

A Nov. 23, 2008, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office incident report showed that on Nov. 13, 2008, a funeral was conducted at Rose City Pentecostal Church for twins Wilfred said she gave birth to after about 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, then ages eight to 12, 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 showed.

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 showed, 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.

After being in the county jail for more than two years, Wilfred, in March 2011, entered guilty pleas in Thomas County Superior Court Tuesday to five counts of cruelty to children in the first degree.

 She also entered a guilty plea to one count of theft by deception.

 In April 2011, Thomas County Superior Court Judge Harry Jay Altman sentenced Wilfred to 20 years in prison, serve eight years and the remainder on probation with credit for the 30 months she has been held in the county jail.

Wilfred was to have no contact with her children during the 30 years of probation that followed incarceration unless approved by the probation office, a psychologist or psychiatrist treating the children, or the court. Her probation was violated by having contact with one of the children.

In 2011, Wilfred entered a guilty plea to five counts of cruelty to children.

The weeping, shackled defendant apologized to the judge and acknowledged wrongdoing.

Wilfred told Altman she “had problems” since she was born and that she could not take back what she did. She said that if released, she would not harm society, that she had learned who she is and what her problems are.

The 2011 sentence included paying restitution of $1,303 to the church and $600 to the church pastor for aid she received under false pretenses.

The prison sentence was meted in a guilty plea to cruelty to children in the first degree, an offense that involves excessive mental or physical pain. Probated sentences were for four counts of cruelty to children in the second degree, which involves mental and physical pain done with criminal negligence.

Probation also was the sentence for a guilty plea to theft by deception. Wilfred said a child was a cancer patient and needed treatment. She took donations from the church and individuals for bogus cancer treatments.

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