The Kotzebue couple plead guilty in the case of child torture and abuse

KOTZEBUE, Alaska (KTUU) – A couple in a northwest Alaska community pleaded guilty Wednesday to alleged child abuse and torture.

Mandy Hill, 47, and Abraham Lambert, 38, pleaded guilty to six counts involving the abuse and torture of four children.

Utqiagvik Supreme Court Judge David Roghair accepted Hill and Lambert’s guilty pleas. Fees include:

• First-degree assault: for starving a child and causing serious injury.

• Second-degree assault: the use of dangerous means to injure a child.

• Third-degree assault: for repeatedly abusing three other children under 12 years old.

As part of the agreement, the court dismissed all other charges.

Hill and Lambert originally faced 25 charges, but their plea deal reduced the count and spared the children from testifying.

The charges stem from ongoing and horrific abuse that began long before the pair were charged in 2021. Sentencing is scheduled for April 10, 2025 and they face prison sentences of between five and 55 years.

The case was investigated by Alaska State Troopers and prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Bailey Woolfstead and Kaci Schroeder.

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