In a lot of cases, prisoners of war got better treatment than this 10-year-old boy at the hands of his custodial dad and the step. Locked in a cage. Forced to eat his own urine and feces. Oh my god....
Notice the "Blame the Evil Stepmother!" strategy here. Poor Daddy was a "good father," an utter naif, who was manipulated by this witch.
Honestly, this is such BS. In cases where Mom's boyfriend beats the kid, and Mom "failed" to stop it, the public routinely roasts the mother as an unfeeling monster. Even if the boyfriend beat her as well, and outweighed her by 50 pounds. Somehow, miraculously, Mom is supposed to keep everybody safe.
So unless The Evil One was a champion weightlifter/martial arts champion, I'm not buying it. It's just the same old double standard. Mothers are supposed to superwomen, while daddies get by playing the Clueless Dumbwit card.
Speaking of mothers, NOT ONE WORD HERE on what happened to this boy's mother. Is she alive? Deceased? Who knows?
Dad is identified as THOMAS BOONE.
http://www.abc-7.com/story/20007969/father-sentenced-in-dis
Father sentenced in child abuse case
Posted: Nov 05, 2012 3:37 PM CST Updated: Nov 05, 2012 5:27 PM CST
By Charlie Keegan, Charlotte County Reporter
CHARLOTTE COUNTY - A Charlotte County couple has already admitted to keeping the man's son caged for months and forcing him to eat his own waste. The stepmother is already in jail. Monday, we found out how long the father will sit in prison.
More than two years after his arrest, Thomas Boone stood in front of a judge for the last time.
In a tearful plea, he asked the judge not to send him to prison.
"I would do things totally different," he said. "I love my son to death."
Deputies arrested bone and his wife, Kimberly, in 2010.
Detectives accused the couple of locking Boone's 10-year-old son in a room full of his own feces and urine with little to eat.
"In the state's eyes, your honor, the victim was treated worse than a family pet would ever be treated," said Prosecutor Jennifer Garczewski.
Kimberly reached a plea deal in September for her role in the abuse.
The defense says Boone was a good father until he married Kimberly. They say she was manipulative and controlling and she was the one who abused the child.
"While this was going on, Mr. Boone was afraid both for him and his child, who was also afraid of Kim," said Defense Attorney Scott Weinberg.
Prosecutors made the case that standing back and not stopping the abuse was worse than actually committing the acts.
"His son was crying out for help and the defendant refused to remove him from the situation," said Garczewski.
"I will follow your recommendation, so I do sentence you sir to four years with the Department of Corrections," said Judge John Duryea, with the 20th Judicial Circuit.
The prosecutor says the victim in this case is doing well. He's healthy and 12-years-old living with his aunt out of state.
The judge is going to let the boy's counselor decide whether or not the boy and his dad should be allowed to have any contact in the future.