A woman charged with abusing two young children was sentenced in court this morning and will serve less than a year in jail.

Sherri Faye Shell, 35, Warsaw, pleaded guilty in February to two counts of D felony battery. She was arrested in October after officials at Jefferson Elementary School received a letter from Shell which tried to explain injuries to two children, ages 6 and 7.

According to police and court records, Shell admitting to using “excessive force” in putting her boyfriend’s 6-year-old child in time out and brushing the child’s hair so roughly that it resulted in a bald spot. Shell told the investigating officer she “gets frustrated when disciplining the children.”

Shell was sentenced to 1 year in jail on one of the charges and had a 2-year jail term suspended on the second charge. With credit for time already served – Shell has been jailed since her arrest on Oct. 8, 2012 – she will serve less than 6 months in the Kosciusko County Jail.