You may remember that two years ago, an 11-year-old boy in Union County, North Carolina--south of Charlotte--was found shivering in 20-degree weather while chained to a porch with a dead chicken around his neck. The boy was under the guardianship of Wanda Larson, a county child protective services worker. It turned out that Larson made the boy and four other kids under her care live under appalling conditions--no running water, feces on the floor. Well, yesterday Larson pleaded guilty for her role in the abuse. In light of all that happened, her sentence was--wait for it--only 17 months in prison.
Before sentencing on Tuesday, Larson expressed remorse for failing to protect the boy and four other children in her home from her live-in boyfriend, co-defendant Dorian Harper.
“I just want to tell the children how sorry I am I couldn’t have protected them better,” Larson said. “There’s no excuse. I should have done more ... and I apologize.”
As part of the deal, Larson, 58, pleaded guilty to four child abuse-related charges that carried a maximum penalty of 37 months. She was sentenced to less than half of that. Two other felonies and several misdemeanor charges were dropped.
If that isn't outrageous enough, Larson is just a few days away from getting out of prison.
As I mentioned at Liberal America, she's been in jail for almost two years on half a million dollars bond. With credit for time served, she could be released as early as next Wednesday. She was also sentenced to 5.5 years' probation, during which she can have no contact with any children under 15.
Larson's live-in boyfriend, Dorian Harper, pleaded guilty last month for his role in the abuse and was sentenced to six to ten years in prison. Prosecutors believe Harper was the primary abuser; among other things, he kept the now 15-year-old boy handcuffed most of the day, twisted his fingers with pliers, and burned his face with live electric wires. Larson's main sins were knowing about the abuse and doing nothing about it.
Local DA Trey Robison said he agreed to the deal in order to spare the kids the trauma of testifying. Apparently Robison forgot about the appalling conditions in which these kids lived. When deputies rescued the kids, they found that Larson's home had feces on the floor and no running water. The odor was so strong that it was still present two days after the kids were rescued and Larson and Harper were arrested. What human being would make anyone, let alone kids, live in those conditions?
About the only way I could see this sentence making any sense is if Larson was in a Hedda Nussbaum situation. But there's no evidence of this--and even her own lawyer was at a loss to explain her (in)actions. However, he must be one helluva talker.
The area DA, Trey Robison, says he agreed to the deal to spare the kids the trauma of testifying. But how in the world could he ignore the appalling conditions in that house? Moreover, the kids were reportedly tortured for years, and are so far behind in school after being homeschooled for just over a year that they may never catch up. Seen in this light, 17 months isn't really a sentence at all. Indeed, it may not even be a phrase.
I perused the Facebook pages of several Charlotte outlets, and the sentiment is almost unanimous--this sentence would be a bad joke if not for what those kids had to endure. Even Larson's own daughter-in-law thinks this was too light. Fortunately, there's a way for area residents to make their feelings known. There's a protest planned for Saturday at noon at the Union County Courthouse. I'm planning to go--and anyone from the Charlotte area should come along too.