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Upstate NY woman who starved young
son sentenced to 15 years
February 20, 2007
Associated Press
CORTLAND, N.Y. -- A woman was
sentenced to 15 years in state prison for starving her 5-year-old
handicapped son, who was found sitting in a playpen infested with
cockroaches and lice, wearing a diaper full of his own waste.
Judy Gratton had little to say in
court Tuesday, except that she wanted to appeal her conviction and
wanted a new attorney.
Gratton, 49, of Cortland, was
convicted in January of first-degree assault, a felony, three
misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and
unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation.
Cortland County Judge William Ames
said it was one of the saddest cases he had ever seen, but he didn't
think Gratton intentionally hurt her youngest child, which is why he
did not impose the maximum sentence of 25 years.
But she blamed others, didn't take
responsibility for the boy's condition and hid her son during
frequent visits by social workers, the judge said in refusing a
defense request for a five-year sentence.
"All you needed to say was, 'I need
help,'" Ames said.
"Sadly, the animals in the house
were treated better than the children," the judge said, noting that
authorities seized two healthy pit bulls from the home.
Gratton and her live-in boyfriend,
Joseph Kahn, were arrested during a drug raid at her home in March
2006. Kahn, 45, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child
and criminal possession of marijuana, and was sentenced to nine
months in jail.
The boy, Harley Morgan, who suffers
from Down syndrome, weighed just 15 pounds when police found him and
could not speak or stand on his own. Several doctors testified that
the boy had been starved for several months and was near death when
he was taken from the home.
A typical 5-year-old should weigh
about 40 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Police said the home was littered
with bags of garbage, dirty diapers and cockroaches.
Two of the endangering charges
related to Gratton's older children, a 12-year-old girl and
13-year-old boy. Police said the raid was sparked when the girl
brought marijuana to school as a cry for help.
Both older children were
malnourished. All three children have been placed in foster care.
Gratton's children were given the
opportunity to address the court Tuesday on their mother's behalf
but declined.
During the trial, Gratton told
jurors the boy had been sick only for a few days. She admitted that
she had a drinking problem but said she never meant to hurt any of
her children.
Alcoholism and a history of
domestic abuse "taught Judy Gratton to keep things inside, and never
ask for help, and to drown her problems in alcohol," said defense
attorney Ira Pesserilo.
Before the sentencing, Pesserilo
asked to have the verdict thrown out and a new trial set. Pesserilo
claimed Ames did not properly instruct the jury, "distorting the law
of depraved indifference to an extent that no jury could possibly
acquit," he wrote in his motion papers. Ames denied the motion for
the new trial.
Pesserilo said an appeal would be
filed.
A subsequent state investigation
into Gratton's case found that the Cortland County Department of
Social Services had missed repeated opportunities to prevent harm to
the boy. The state investigation found that county social workers
made at least nine home and school visits in the six months leading
up to the drug raid that revealed the conditions the family was
living in.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=564878&category=New%20York%20State&BCCode=&newsdate=2/20/2007 |
