Calif. pastor jailed for drugging, abusing 5 girls

updated 4:16 a.m. ET Sept. 19, 2009

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. - A California pastor has been sentenced to life in prison for beating and drugging her five adopted daughters and locking them in a garage.

Jessica Banks, 65, received consecutive life terms Friday after being convicted in July of sexually abusing two of her daughters and forcing all the sisters to go without food for days.

Banks was arrested in 2005 after one emaciated girl was found lying outside a Moreno Valley business.

Prosecutors say the sisters, who were ages 4 to 11 at the time, lived in a hidden room in Banks' garage with no air conditioning or heating.

They attended school at the Word of Life Apostolic Church, where Banks was pastor.

More on: California

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