A Simpson County couple who was hit with numerous criminal charges after police found their young son locked alone in his room now face multiple years in prison after reportedly pleading guilty.

Johnathon Lee Jenkins, 32, entered a guilty plea earlier this month in Simpson Circuit Court to 179 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, 90 counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, a count of second-degree criminal abuse, two counts of fourth-degree assault, a count of second-degree strangulation, and knowingly obstructing an investigation/report of child abuse/neglect, accepting a plea agreement recommending a 10-year prison sentence, according to a copy of a judgment entered by Simpson Circuit Judge Mark Thurmond.

Morgan Soper, 29, also pleaded guilty this month to 179 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, 90 counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree criminal abuse.

Through a plea agreement that calls for Soper to serve consecutive five-year sentences on four of the criminal counts concurrently with the other 175 counts to which she pleaded guilty, Soper faces a 20-year prison sentence, according to court records available online.

The couple were arrested last year after an investigation by the Simpson County Sheriff’s Office.

A delivery driver attempting to leave a package at their Springfield Road home on Oct. 12, 2023, got no answer after knocking on the front and back doors, and deputies were contacted after the driver saw a small child crying inside the house and beating on the window, according to court records.

SCSO deputies forced their way into the home and found a padlocked door, which led into a room where a then 4-year-old boy was found wearing only a pull-up, according to prior court testimony.

Deputy Debbie Steele of the Simpson County Sheriff’s Office testified in Simpson District Court last year that urine and feces stained two walls of the room, and the child was covered in feces and did not have access to food or drink.

Through investigation, authorities determined that Jenkins and Soper appeared to have left for work each morning and confined the child in a bedroom until they returned home in the afternoon, a practice that reportedly began on June 9, 2023, and continued each weekday until the pair were arrested.

“After speaking to the parents, they advised they locked the 4-year-old in his room because he was kicked out of daycare,” Steele stated in a complaint warrant. “Both parents work in Tennessee and leave in the early morning hours and do not return until mid-afternoon.”

At a preliminary hearing last year, Steele testified that Jenkins reportedly told Department for Community-Based Services workers that he kept the child locked in a room after researching the issue online.

At the time of her arrest, Soper worked at a child care facility in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, police said.

Court records indicate that Jenkins’ sentencing is set for Dec. 9, while Soper is to be sentenced on Feb. 10.