The woman convicted in the vicious abuse of a 3-year-old boy who died in 2011 was sentenced to 28-and-a-half to 57 years in prison yesterday.

Jaquinn Brewton (Photo from Faces of Angels Blog).

Nadera Watson, 25, lived with 3-year-old Jaquinn Brewton in an apartment at 49th and Chestnut. Paramedics were called to the apartment in June 2011 and found Brewton, who was developmentally delayed and was Watson’s godson, unconscious. Watson told police that he had fallen down a flight of stairs, but the investigation that followed revealed a pattern of methodical abuse involving boiling liquid, a blowtorch and periodic beatings. Jaquinn’s mother left the toddler in Watson’s care when she moved into a homeless shelter with her five other children.

The case was so horrific that it shook up long-time social workers and prompted an investigation into the Department of Human Services’ handling of the case. The Department of Public Welfare report on Jaquinn’s death is here. According to the report, Human Services “missed several monthly visits” to the child. The report alleges that timely visits “could have uncovered the abuse that was occurring in the home.”

Watson was convicted of third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and child endangerment charges. Watson’s boyfriend, Marcus King, pleaded guilty to third degree murder in August and was sentenced to 10-20 years in prison.