Stepmom of starved girl enters guilty plea
SEATTLE - A Carnation woman accused of starving her 14-year-old stepdaughter in a nightmarish case of child abuse pleaded guilty Friday morning to criminal mistreatment in the first degree.
The woman, Rebecca Long, is accused in court papers of depriving her stepdaughter of food and water, leaving her emaciated and suffering from severe malnutrition.
Long entered a so-called Alford plea to one count of first-degree criminal mistreatment, which means that Long does not admit her guilt but believes that a jury would likely find her guilty.
Jon E. Pomeroy, the girl's father, also pleaded guilty on Monday to criminal mistreatment in the first degree.
The sentencing range for both the stepmother and father is 31 to 41 months in prison, and the King County Prosecutor's Office says it will recommend 41 months in prison for both defendants.
Pomeroy and his wife, Rebecca Long, were arrested Oct. 10, several weeks after deputies removed the then 14-year-old girl from their Carnation home.
The investigation began when Child Protective Services was called to the house after neighbors reported hearing screaming the night before.
Deputies interviewed the girl privately when her father told detectives she was the one screaming.
The girl told deputies her mother disciplined her by restricting her water intake, and was primarily given toast to eat. She said she hadn't seen a doctor in several years.
Pomeroy is the girl's biological father and Long was her stepmother.
She and her then 12-year-old brother were taken from the home and the girl was admitted to Children's Hospital for treatment of severe malnutrition. She was in the hospital for two weeks.
During the investigation, investigators said they found the girl's mother restricted her water intake to about half of a small Dixie cup per day. The mother only let the girl shower every two or three weeks, and watched her during each shower and bathroom break to keep the girl from surreptitiously drinking water.
"She looked more like she was 8 or 9 years old. Clearly very, very malnourished," Sheriff spokesman John Urquhart said after the arrests. "All of her teeth had to be either pulled or capped."
The girl and her brother were forced to sleep on the floor in the same room as their parents, and a heavy dresser was pushed in front of the door to keep her from sneaking out and getting water, Urquhart said. The girl said the dresser was placed there after she was caught one night sneaking out of her own room to drink water from the toilet.
The girl told deputies that on one occasion, her mother duct-taped her hands behind her back and dunked her head in the toilet as a form of discipline.
According to case documents released last year, the girl was so depressed that she told social workers she would rather have a "lethal injection" than go back home to her father and stepmother.
The detective handling the case has been investigating abuse and neglect for 16 years and said it was the worst case of child abuse he had ever seen.
Pomeroy will be sentenced on Sept. 18 at 2:45 p.m. before King County Superior Court Judge William Downing. Long will be sentenced Nov. 6 at 1 p.m., also in Judge Downing's courtroom.
The woman, Rebecca Long, is accused in court papers of depriving her stepdaughter of food and water, leaving her emaciated and suffering from severe malnutrition.
Long entered a so-called Alford plea to one count of first-degree criminal mistreatment, which means that Long does not admit her guilt but believes that a jury would likely find her guilty.
Jon E. Pomeroy, the girl's father, also pleaded guilty on Monday to criminal mistreatment in the first degree.
The sentencing range for both the stepmother and father is 31 to 41 months in prison, and the King County Prosecutor's Office says it will recommend 41 months in prison for both defendants.
Pomeroy and his wife, Rebecca Long, were arrested Oct. 10, several weeks after deputies removed the then 14-year-old girl from their Carnation home.
The investigation began when Child Protective Services was called to the house after neighbors reported hearing screaming the night before.
Deputies interviewed the girl privately when her father told detectives she was the one screaming.
The girl told deputies her mother disciplined her by restricting her water intake, and was primarily given toast to eat. She said she hadn't seen a doctor in several years.
Pomeroy is the girl's biological father and Long was her stepmother.
She and her then 12-year-old brother were taken from the home and the girl was admitted to Children's Hospital for treatment of severe malnutrition. She was in the hospital for two weeks.
During the investigation, investigators said they found the girl's mother restricted her water intake to about half of a small Dixie cup per day. The mother only let the girl shower every two or three weeks, and watched her during each shower and bathroom break to keep the girl from surreptitiously drinking water.
"She looked more like she was 8 or 9 years old. Clearly very, very malnourished," Sheriff spokesman John Urquhart said after the arrests. "All of her teeth had to be either pulled or capped."
The girl and her brother were forced to sleep on the floor in the same room as their parents, and a heavy dresser was pushed in front of the door to keep her from sneaking out and getting water, Urquhart said. The girl said the dresser was placed there after she was caught one night sneaking out of her own room to drink water from the toilet.
The girl told deputies that on one occasion, her mother duct-taped her hands behind her back and dunked her head in the toilet as a form of discipline.
According to case documents released last year, the girl was so depressed that she told social workers she would rather have a "lethal injection" than go back home to her father and stepmother.
The detective handling the case has been investigating abuse and neglect for 16 years and said it was the worst case of child abuse he had ever seen.
Pomeroy will be sentenced on Sept. 18 at 2:45 p.m. before King County Superior Court Judge William Downing. Long will be sentenced Nov. 6 at 1 p.m., also in Judge Downing's courtroom.