Parents Sentenced in Abuse Case
(UPI) Seattle parents James and Marie Casey were sentenced yesterday in an abuse case that drew national attention. The Caseys claimed that their religious convictions led them to build an altar in their house and enact a human sacrifice with their 12-year-old son.
According to court documents, James forced the boy to carry timber into their basement and nail together a crude altar. He then held the boy down over the structure and told him that God demanded that he be killed. Casey held a razor to the boy's throat until Marie intoned, "You have passed the test," at which point the boy was released.
Child protection authorities were tipped off to the abuse and took custody of the boy, who has since been given over to a guardian aunt.
At sentencing, Washington state authorities described the psychological trauma suffered by the boy. A court-appointed psychologist testified that the damage is severe and will take years to overcome.
Judge Damon Warnes told the couple, "You have given up your parental rights through your cruel treatment of your own child. In the guise of religion, you have been cruel and abusive beyond the power of ordinary language to convey. I wish I could sentence you to a longer term, but the eight to ten years I can impose may give you some time to assess your responsibility for your actions and the hurt you inflicted on your boy. Your contention that no physical harm was done is completely irrelevant to the brutality of your actions. Religious convictions are no excuse at all, and the fanaticism you have displayed is both undeniable and repellent."
Okay, I made the whole story up, but I like what I have the judge say.
