US boy chained up with dead chicken around neck tells his story

[webfact]

Boy chained up with dead chicken around neck tells his story
By MITCH WEISS and TOM FOREMAN Jr.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Handcuffed and shackled to a block of steel, the young boy would brace himself when he heard footsteps outside his bedroom door. He knew that once the grown-ups entered, the abuse would begin.

For years, he was whipped with belts, his face was burned with electrical wires and his fingers were broken with pliers — all to "teach him a lesson." The abusers, who have since pleaded guilty, were his legal guardian — a supervisor with the Department of Social Services in Union County, North Carolina — and her longtime boyfriend, an emergency room nurse.

The abuse ended in November 2013 after police discovered the boy in handcuffs, chained to the front porch of the house with a dead chicken hung around his neck.

When police entered the roach-infested house "covered with urine and animal feces," they found something else: four other children, ages 7 to 14, who had been adopted by the couple over the years. They were removed and placed in protective custody.

All were abused, but authorities say the boy bore the brunt of the couple's rage.

"I was scared to death," the boy, now 13, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I thought I wouldn't survive."

The AP is not naming the boy because of the nature of the abuse.

Three months after Wanda Sue Larson and her boyfriend Dorian Harper were sentenced, the boy is telling his story. Larson was released from prison in April, just nine days after pleading guilty to child abuse charges. Now, the boy wants everyone to know she didn't serve enough time.

"I want her to be in jail longer," he says.

His mother agrees.

"It's ridiculous," his mother said. The AP isn't identifying the mother, to avoid indirectly identifying her son.

Jeff Gerber is founder of the Justice for All Coalition, which organized protests against the plea deal that led to Larson's release. He said there is widespread outrage over Larson's lenient sentence.

Harper, 58, was sentenced to up to 10 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty March 17 to maiming, intentional child abuse inflicting serious injury and assault with a deadly weapon.

Two weeks later, Larson, 58, was sentenced to nearly 17 months in jail after pleading guilty to four counts of child abuse. But she was given credit for time served in jail after her arrest and was released April 9. She lives in the same county where the boy now lives.

Telephone messages left for District Attorney Trey Robison were not returned Wednesday. Robison has said he agreed to the plea deals mainly to spare the child-victims from having to testify.

Messages left for Larson's attorney, Robert Leas, were not returned Wednesday.

At her sentencing, Larson expressed remorse for failing to protect the boy and the four others. She blamed most of the abuse on her boyfriend.

The boy, however, says Larson not only knew about the abuse, but encouraged it. As he tries to recover, he worries that he might run into her at a neighborhood store, a mall. What would happen then?

"That's why I want to tell my story," he said, softly.

He now lives with his mother in a Charlotte apartment. Wearing a green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt and blue gym shorts, he sat on a couch in his living room, patiently answering questions.

Barely 5 feet tall and slender, with brown hair and brown eyes, he looked younger than 13.

Court documents say he was put in foster care a decade ago after problems arose at the home of an aunt where he had been staying while his mother was moving from another state, and he ended up with Larson. When the boy's mother found out he was in foster care, she tried to get him back. But Larson said the boy had developed a bond with her family and he stayed with her. Eventually she became his legal guardian.

The mother only got to see her son a few times a year at a neutral setting, and he said nothing about the abuse.

Meanwhile, the boy says Larson told him his mother was sick and he couldn't visit her.

"She'd say, 'Your mom is in the hospital. She's there because of your behavior. You're killing her,'" he says.

Eventually, Larson and Harper pulled the children out of a Union County school, saying they'd school them at their secluded home where they also kept farm animals.

The boy says he was handcuffed and chained to a steel anvil in his locked room where he slept on the floor. At times, they'd starve him and he'd have to beg for scraps. Sometime, the other children would sneak food to him and he'd hide the wrappers in a hole in the wall. Many nights, he wasn't allowed to use the bathroom.

The boy says he was even shackled when he went outside. The only time they removed the chains was when he cleaned the house, or picked up animal feces.

One time, he says Harper cut his left arm and poured salt in the wound. The scar is still visible. It reached a point that every time they entered his room, he'd pray: "I hope I don't get hurt."

Then he'd think about his mother, that maybe they'd be reunited. He kept dreaming of escaping, and that kept him going.

A few days before the boy was rescued, Harper blamed him for the death of a chicken and made him wear it around his neck — even at night.

The police were responding to a call about a loose animal when they stumbled on him, chained up on the front porch.

The boy is still recovering. His mother says it will be a long road. Her son goes to therapy twice a week. He's in summer camp and public school. Still, there are times he can't escape. He had a nightmare that Larson came to his house and took him away. He couldn't find his mother.

"I woke up and I thought it was real," he said. "It was just a dream, but I couldn't go back to sleep."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-02

[sdanielmcev]

I hope there is a special place in hell for people like that.

[Seastallion]

It was sheer luck that he was found and rescued. How many other sickos are not caught?

How do such mean, warped people become a supervisor at a Social Services office and a nurse?

Very sad on so many levels.

This gets me too: " Robison has said he agreed to the plea deals mainly to spare the child-victims from having to testify.". Well Mr DA, why not ask the boy and his real family first? Maybe he wanted to testify, maybe he would have been happy (and it seems he would have been) to see her face the justice that she should have faced.

There are advantages to plea bargains, but sometimes prosecutors are too interested in an easy win at the expense of true justice.

Reminds of of the movie "Law Abiding Citizen". Hope the boy doesn't go on to exact revenge after this travesty of justice, as in the movie.

[4evermaat]

....The boy, however, says Larson not only knew about the abuse, but encouraged it. As he tries to recover, he worries that he might run into her at a neighborhood store, a mall. What would happen then?

"That's why I want to tell my story," he said, softly...

The boy could have a moment of temporary insanity, take something sharp nearby, and.....well......another follow up news article.

[Seastallion]

I hope there is a special place in hell for people like that.

The faces of sick degenerates.

[geriatrickid]

I couldn't read this story to the end. Heartbreaking, So wrong on so many levels and this evil woman is allowed to walk free. Who speaks for this kid?

[WitawatWatawit]

I hope there is a special place in hell for people like that.

I hope there's a special place in hell for Robison, the judge and anyone else who agreed to accept the plea deal. This sicko woman spent just 17 months behind bars for a truly vile deed. She walks a free person, while the boy will be forever chained in his mind, knowing she lives close by and he could run into her. In NZ we have the Sensible Sentencing Trust, which has had success in revisiting cases and getting sentences changed to reflect the true nature of a crime when judges misjudge. It seems the American version, Justice for All Coalition cannot do the same.

[scorecard]

I couldn't read this story to the end. Heartbreaking, So wrong on so many levels and this evil woman is allowed to walk free. Who speaks for this kid?

Agree. To me it brings back the argument that some people should never be allowed to have children or have custody of children, but of course that argument is complex and especially in terms of human rights issues. But somehow the human rights of the unfortunate children involved get pushed out of sight.

But there is a valid discussion about how such people get employment in welfare / children's services etc.

I recall years back an old peoples home in my suburb (mostly very aged, bedridden people) made the news because the staff refused to change the bed linens and diapers etc., if the patient had an 'accident' more than once a day. If they did they were left to just lie in their own excrement and urine for half a day or more. This was a private hospital / old peoples home, and not cheap.

The owner and a number of staff were charged, the case went to court and the testimony was reported in the media. Their main argument was 'other people don't understand, we get sick of cleaning up old people', and they all made the same comments when they were questioned in court.

I recall the owner was fined and jailed and a court order was issued that she could never own, or have employment or any connection with such places forever. The staff were all fined very heavily and prohibited forever from working in any form of hospital or similar.

The judge also made a court order that such places had to seriously change their recruitment procedures.

Edited July 2, 2015 by scorecard

[Freed1948]

Bloody sickos should get a much harsher sentence.

[Berkshire]

I hope there is a special place in hell for people like that.

The faces of sick degenerates.

More like the faces of evil. Pure evil.

[Lissos]

More like the faces of evil. Pure evil.

Or, just faces.

On their mug shots they do look miserable and somewhat smug but I don't think evil has an obvious face as many people believe.

[Scott]

These people would have been screened for adoption of the other children and would have been licensed as foster parents. There needs to be a very serious look at who was making the annual home visit to license the home.

[steven100]

Absolute disregard for family cohesion and understanding. Thoughtless scum.

I hope their faces and the story are posted on facebook and elsewhere so that everyone knows what they did .....

[Seastallion]

These people would have been screened for adoption of the other children and would have been licensed as foster parents. There needs to be a very serious look at who was making the annual home visit to license the home.

Absolutely!...The report said cockroach infested, and mentioned faeces and urine.

She worked in the office that does the screening?

[oneday]

I hope there is a special place in hell for the government people who should have been checking up on him and his home environment.

This just shouldn't happen, but I know it does...all too often.

[timmyp]

These people would have been screened for adoption of the other children and would have been licensed as foster parents. There needs to be a very serious look at who was making the annual home visit to license the home.

Absolutely!...The report said cockroach infested, and mentioned faeces and urine.

She worked in the office that does the screening?

I fully agree with both of you.

My mom was a social worker for the Department of Children and Family Services in Chicago for 22 years. She said the number of case loads were just overwhelming. They were supposed to have a total of 15 cases per month, but she said it was never less than double that, usually around 40/month. She said there just isn't enough time to check up on kids in the foster home, that inevitably kids slip through the cracks. The social worker gets blamed when really it was the underfunded and poorly run system.

[SOTIRIOS]

...way not enought time......

...someone should appeal.....

..especially considering the positions of trust that they held....

....she did not have to go along with it.....

...and it went on for years......

...she should get at least the same sentence they gave the poor children......

...obviously both adults are emotional cripples...to say the least....they should not be free under any circumstances....

...institutionalized at least.....to protect the public.....

[Alwyn]

It was sheer luck that he was found and rescued. How many other sickos are not caught?

How do such mean, warped people become a supervisor at a Social Services office and a nurse?

Very sad on so many levels.

This gets me too: " Robison has said he agreed to the plea deals mainly to spare the child-victims from having to testify.". Well Mr DA, why not ask the boy and his real family first? Maybe he wanted to testify, maybe he would have been happy (and it seems he would have been) to see her face the justice that she should have faced.

There are advantages to plea bargains, but sometimes prosecutors are too interested in an easy win at the expense of true justice.

Reminds of of the movie "Law Abiding Citizen". Hope the boy doesn't go on to exact revenge after this travesty of justice, as in the movie.

I hope he's does extract revenge at some future point

[Traveling Sailor]

Absolute disregard for family cohesion and understanding. Thoughtless scum.

I hope their faces and the story are posted on facebook and elsewhere so that everyone knows what they did .....

Yes! And where they did it and where the woman now lives. Perhaps she will have an "accident". Poor thing.

[jackanapes]

there are some really evil people in the world and this woman was a supervisor in the local social services department incredible I think her and her boyfriend should have got at least 5 years apiece for what they did to that boy .

[RaoulDuke]

People like this deserve a one-way ticket to Syria. If even half of what the boy says is true, they both deserve nothing less than being thrown off of a building, getting their head slowly sawed off, or being burnt alive in a cage. But justice never comes to the truly wicked, as only the good die young.

[reptile91602]

They should have both gotten life sentences but that's what you get from ridiculous laws in the US.

[nakhonandy]

...way not enought time......

...someone should appeal.....

..especially considering the positions of trust that they held....

....she did not have to go along with it.....

...and it went on for years......

...she should get at least the same sentence they gave the poor children......

...obviously both adults are emotional cripples...to say the least....they should not be free under any circumstances....

...institutionalized at least.....to protect the public.....

She didn't just condone it!

In the boys statement she encouraged and participated in it. Sickos the pair of them.

Ridiculous sentence, just 17 months. Should be 17 years. Pathetic proscecutor.

[fred Kubasa]

Eerily similar to my last marriage !

[TimmyT]

man got 10,5 years and woman 17 months for the same crime. Unites Socialist States of America's view of "equal rights" in action

I am sure she said something like: "I was so intimidated by my aggressive husband so I obeyed his orders to torture kids. I am just a victim here, don't you see?! I am a woman and women would never do anything evil unless thy are forced by men!"

Edited July 3, 2015 by TimmyT

[Scott]

No doubt there is more to this story that what is being presented. If the boy is living with someone who is unrelated to him, then a court had to grant guardianship. To do that, usually, the court is going to require a home study and in a lot of places that includes a fire inspection, a health and safety inspection etc.. If the child was in the foster care system there would be a social worker assigned to the case and in most states, and most developed countries, there is a standard for the minimum number of home visits that must be made and also a number of face-to-face contacts with the child and the foster parents (some of these can be in an office).

Even if she worked in the social service office, another social worker/caseworker would have been assigned.

We also need to remember that this child ended up in the system due to family problems. He may have had behavioral problems that required specialized care -- and that doesn't involve an anvil and a dead chicken. This is a massive failure of a system that allowed this to go on. Some butts need to be kicked and some heads need to roll.

As for the sentence, it is unfair and hopefully a review will be done. I hope it wasn't the same judge that awarded guardianship to these people.

[slapout]

i had an employee who would chain his son to a tree in the back 40 for real or susposed infractions. food was delivered but no shelter provided. one time the boy went to see grandparents without permission, 2 weeks chained to tree resulted. there is no understanding some people desire for total control.my example may be considered playtime compared to treatment handed out by some bullies.

another father used horse harness straps as punishment and another his ham sized fists on boys (under 10) and allowed it built character. there are some real sick o's out there for which there is probably virtually no chance to help nor change.

[pkspeaker]

Yea, when i was in HS, my friends dad and stepmom locked him in a small room built into halfof the garage ?about the size of a closet with a mat.pad and desk in it, for the entire 2nd semester when he wasnt in school, he would get meals delivered to the closet so he never left and no one could visit him.. but i had seen the closet prior to the 4 month punishment..supposedly for getting a D