South Carolina woman who ran dog fighting ring and kept children in room ‘dirtier than a dog kennel’ learns her fate

Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of child abuse. Please take care while reading.

A South Carolina judge sentenced a woman to prison for a 2024 child abuse case that left her 10-month-old daughter dead. The woman, 40-year-old Sarah Shakeri-Taylor, from Summerville, South Carolina, has been involved in several child abuse cases in the past. In May 2024, South Carolina authorities discovered evidence that Shakeri-Taylor and her partner, Sandy Sharron Gathers ran a dogfighting ring in their home.

Shakeri-Tayor’s first child abuse case happened in 2014, when deputies responded to reports of two young children, aged 2 and 3, hanging out of a second-story window in Summerville’s Eagle Run neighborhood. 

South Carolina police discovered the children had been locked in their bedroom for over 14 hours without food or supervision, and the room was covered in feces. 

Investigators described the home as “dirtier than a dog kennel.” The youngest child has “a fully soiled diaper duct taped to his body,” according to a First Circuit Solicitor’s Office social media post.

Shakeri-Taylor’s bench warrant

A 40-year-old woman from Summerville was sentenced to nine years in prison Monday following a guilty plea related to a 2014 case of child abuse.https://t.co/97eCWUzvIh

— ABC News 4 (@ABCNews4) April 8, 2025

At that time, Shakeri-Taylor and a man were found sleeping in the house. She was charged with unlawful conduct towards a child but failed to appear in court in 2018, leading to a bench warrant for her arrest.

Authorities reported that while out on bond for her 2014 child abuse charge in Dorchester County, South Carolina, Sarah Shakeri-Taylor left the United States and traveled to Iran. 

Her whereabouts remained unknown until the death of her infant in 2024 brought her back into the legal system.

The 2024 case

Then 10 years later, authorities responded to Shakeri-Taylor’s home in Ladson, South Carolina, following reports of her 10-month-old daughter, Aminah, being unresponsive. The infant was pronounced dead at the hospital, and a toxicology report revealed a large amount of fentanyl in her system. 

Evidence collected from the scene, including baby bottles and a pacifier, tested positive for fentanyl. Shakeri-Taylor was charged with homicide by child abuse, conspiracy, and ill-treatment of animals, as authorities discovered approximately 15 dogs, reportedly Pitbulls, and items associated with dog fighting at her residence. Shakeri-Taylor and her partner, Gathers, were charged with multiple counts related to animal fighting and conspiracy.

In April this year, 2025, Shakeri-Taylor pleaded guilty to the 2014 charge of unlawful conduct towards a child and was sentenced to 10 years, suspended to nine years of active prison time, followed by three years of probation.

Responding to Shakeri-Taylor’s sentencing, Chief Deputy Solicitor Kelly LaPlante said in a statement, “We are devastated that these children were locked in their room for such an extended period, while their mother slept completely oblivious of the desperation of her own children.”

The statement added, “We are frustrated that Ms. Shakeri-Taylor was able to avoid prosecution for so many years. However, she is living proof that you can run, but you cannot hide in Dorchester County. We will eventually find you, and we will prosecute you.”