Two former workers at a Nebraska center for developmentally disabled adults are going to prison for abusing residents.

A judge on Wednesday sentenced Cameron Barnes, of Fairbury, to 2 to 4 years on two felony counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult, to be served consecutively. Matthew Johnson, of Beatrice, was sentenced to consecutive 1 to 4 year prison terms on similar charges.

Attorneys for both men asked for probation. Gage County District Judge Paul Korslund sentenced them to prison, saying they had violated a trust to care for those who could not care for themselves.

Barnes and Johnson were among five workers fired and charged after an investigation at the Beatrice State Development Center last year. The investigation found at least seven residents were routinely abused.