A Croydon couple has been sentenced after pleading guilty to felony child endangerment charges for failing to provide necessary care and nutrition for their newborn premature twins, resulting in severe malnourishment, Bucks County authorities announced Thursday.
Courtney Soyka, 33, pleaded guilty today to two counts of child endangerment and was sentenced to one year less a day to two years less a day in county jail. Marcus Maddela, 45, previously pleaded guilty in late October to child endangerment charges and was sentenced to eight to 23 months in county jail. During Thursday’s sentencing hearing before President Judge Raymond F. McHugh, Assistant District Attorney Bridget Murphy described the case as “extremely disturbing.”
As previously reported by this digital news organization, in December 2024 an investigation was launched when Bristol Township police received a referral from Bucks County Children and Youth about newborn twins born premature at 32 weeks, according to court records.
The babies were born on Oct. 7 and held in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) until they were healthy enough to be released to their parents. On Dec. 11, both were brought back to the hospital after missing four medical appointments each and appearing extremely underweight for their age…