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A Connecticut nanny accused of burning a three-year-old's hand and leg on a hot stove, lifting her up by her hair and trapping her inside a toy chest has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The News-Times reports a defence attorney called Lidia Quilligana's actions "unfathomable" at Tuesday's sentencing, but said she was "a sad person who lost control." The attorney said Quilligana was abused as a child and was using the only discipline she knew.

An advocate for the victims said the abuse suffered by the three-year-old and her one-year-old twin siblings could only be described as torture.

The judge said 15 years "doesn't even come close to fitting the crime."

Police say Quilligana was arrested in 2015 after a hidden camera captured the abuse.