John Jefferson
Brianne Faye Nicoletti (Bayfield County Sheriff’s Office)
A 35-year-old woman in Wisconsin will spend more than two decades behind bars for physically and emotionally torturing her adopted 15-year-old son so severely that the presiding judge likened the boy’s home to a “concentration camp.” Bayfield County Circuit Court Judge John P. Anderson on Tuesday ordered Brianne Faye Nicoletti to serve 25 years in a state correctional facility plus an additional 20 years of supervised release for her horrendous crimes, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Nicoletti previously pleaded guilty to one count each of child abuse — intentionally causing great bodily harm, first-degree reckless endangerment, neglect of a child resulting in great bodily harm, causing mental harm to a child, and false imprisonment. An additional six charges originally brought against Nicoletti were dropped but read in, meaning the judge could consider them when deciding what sentence to hand down to the defendant.
According to a report from the Ashland Daily Press, Anderson castigated Nicoletti, telling the nearly full courtroom that hers was “one of the most disturbing cases I’ve ever seen” and stating that her home was like “Bayfield County’s Concentration Camp.”
Prosecutors reportedly explained how Nicoletti would withhold food from the boy, allowing him to eat only once a day, if at all, leaving him “emaciated” with “sunken cheeks/eyes,” per court records. She would also beat him with a hollow metal tube for innocuous actions, such as eating without permission.
In November 2023, the boy ran away from home because he was being starved and beaten, the Daily Press previously reported. However, Nicoletti’s boyfriend reportedly found him and he was locked back in his room. Because he attempted to leave the home, Nicoletti reportedly cut holes in his winter coat so he wouldn’t be able to stay outside for extended periods.
“She’s not human. (The victim was) placed with a monster,” Assistant District Attorney Lynne Van Hollen, who prosecuted the case, reportedly told the court. “In her mug shot, she’s smiling. I’ve never seen this. She has not expressed any remorse.”
Prior to handing down the sentence, Nicoletti addressed the court and apologized for the abuse she inflicted on the child.
“I love all my children. I feel terrible,” she reportedly said. “I promise to do the best I can to make changes. I want to be a better person.”
But Anderson, in no uncertain terms, told Nicoletti that he was not buying her specious repentance, reportedly calling the culmination of the case “one of the saddest moments in Bayfield County.” The judge explained that he thought Nicoletti was a sociopath who knew how to get away with criminal actions.
“Who do you think you are?” he asked her, per the Daily Press. “I’m not stupid. Come on. You know what you did, over and over again. (You’re) sorry you got caught.”
Anderson even ended the proceedings in a different fashion than usual, reportedly telling Nicoletti he usually says “good luck” to defendants after sentencing them to prison.
“I won’t say that to you,” the judge told Nicoletti. “You don’t deserve it.”
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