There is a notable sentencing in Washington of two parents who received 20-year prison terms for child abuse. The sentencing of Christopher Sefton, 30, and Lori Lloyd, 31, is unusually high due to the shocking level of abuse of their young children including beatings and making them eat disgusting hot dog-and-cooking oil smoothies. What is bizarre is that we read of parents who face senseless child wellfare actions for letting their kids play in their fenced in backyards or honest mistakes made at sporting events. Yet these two people were the subject of repeated complaints of abuse and their kids came to school bruised and under-nourished without any serious action taken.
Their 6-year-old boy was battered and emaciated when action was finally taken. He had been feeding himself out of school trash cans. His life at home was hell with Sefton and Lloyd forcing him to eat the smoothies and calisthenics while denying him sleep.
Sefton testified that he was as a “proactive” and “engaged” parent. A bit too engaged given photos of bruises on the children. The boy weighed just 50 pounds when he was placed in child protection. Teachers and other parents reportedly made dozens of calls without success to child welfare offices.
While school nurses and teachers did what they could (including bringing food in for the boy), Sefton objected that he was being discriminated against because he was a man raising his child. He threatened to sue if teachers would not stop feeding his son, who he described as a demon.
The record was more than sufficient to send them away for 20 years. However, there should also be demands for answers of how child welfare officials ignored the many calls from teachers and witnesses while these children were being tortured by these two sick individuals.
I am still trying to figure out who they target and who they ignore.
It seems like they target the relatively innocent parent, and ignore the incredibly guilty parents.
Many stories like this.
Not to make light but a hot dog smoothy is probably better in taste and texture than michelle o’s school food. Plus any parent knows if you got picky eaters you got to improvise to introduce protien. But they make carnation for that. I just hate to see that they “made” their kis exercise and eat be part of the sentence. That they
Beat them is enough. If the kids were fat they’d also be in trouble. It really is a no win for parents in america today. My boy has birthmarks on his arms and for fifteen years at every doctor appointment…”how’d that happen?”….the “suspiscion” of the paranoid sentinels is palpable. And they can’t even focus on the cold or flu or physical at hand cuz their mind is racing…..omg mandatory reporter….so many decent ppl lives have been ruined by sentinels jumping to conclusions or unconfronted “reports” by anonymous ppl. As to the gal above whose professional friend got nailed….when i see little kids left in a car without a bigger sibling… i don’t nark. I sit there until the parent returns. Look them in the eye. Then carry on. In many scandinavian counties ppl leave their kids in buggies outside. It really depe,ds on community….and if you are going to be one or just be arses.
The government employees, simply looking to pad overtime pay and get to that retirement goldmine more quickly, are not looking to take on any real work! As a result, no government employee will be fired, no government employee will be suspended, no government employee will be reprimanded and no government employee will suffer any consequences for ignoring the child abuse. The government employees responsible for this neglect may not get a framed ‘Job Well Done’ award this year, but they will not see any actions taken against them. The retirement countdown calendar will simply get another ‘X’.
It’s no different than the government employees that poisoned the people of Flint, MI. Finally after years of cover up and disregard for human life some low lying fruit has been taken to task. EPA ignores lab results showing elevated levels of lead in Flint drinking water and while she resigned, she will not lose any of her lucrative retirement pay and benefits.
You have government officials running elections that are incompetent. They close polling places without warning, they print ballots incorrectly, they have no voting paper trails, they force people to wait in long lines for hours, yet they still keep their cushy, well paid jobs regardless of the consequences to democracy.
The buck stops nowhere in government employee hierarchy. Until there are real consequences for real failure, these tragedies will be commonplace and democracy will be harmed and people will suffer and soome will die.
Some articles mention that, others did not.
And if true, why not call the Police when CPS refused to act?
KCF,
The article notes that dozens of calls were made to CPS to no avail.
School nurses and teachers did what they could, except reporting obvious abuse and neglect.
I suspect they were afraid of the male parent.
My neighbors were like this, though less severe, but abuse and neglect were obvious. CPS did not respond to any of our calls, so we quit trying.
When 2 of the boys were older, they were torturing a dog in a plastic swimming pool in the backyard. We called Animal Control, and they were there in 30 minutes.
Then they started setting fires in the backyard, so we called the Fire Dept, who came out and chewed out the boys and parents.
CPS never ever came.
In contrast, a friend of mine in the same town (wealthy, white, expensive car) was parked at a strip mall. Left her 3 kids (ages 2-7) in the car for maybe 5 minutes to run in and pay a bill.
CPS was there in record time.
She had to go to parenting classes.
My point?
There are two sets of laws.
One for those that are likely to follow them, and they are enforced ruthlessly.
The other is for the dregs of society, the bottom quintile. They are enforced only when necessary, like murder and fire and puppies.
Especially puppies.
Canada is no different.
Elmer,
My parents divorced when I was a kid (we ended up living in a different part of the state). No one ever asked me where my daddy was.
Also, regarding “The kid will be an adult when daddy gets out of prison and may have to care for him.”–that poor child is under no obligation to care for an abusive parent ever.
Hopefully, someone will be a real father to that little boy.
The next 20 years will be difficult for the child. He will be asked on a daily basis: Where is your daddy? And he will have to explain that he was abused by his own father and now his own father is in some prison being abused by others in the prison who hate child abusers because they were all victims of child abuse. The kid will be an adult when daddy gets out of prison and may have to care for him.
Reblogged this on Truth Troubles: Why people hate the truths' of the real world.
Poor little boy. What’s going to happen to him? I hope these two never get their claws in him again. But most of all, I hope he gets a loving and protective family. Is he just going to go into the foster care system, AKA the prison fast track?