This will just blow your mind... I read this in my local paper today and cried my eyes out!!
Everett -- Eryk Woodruff had discovered corn on the cob. He only had 4 teeth but he gnawed with glee.
That was before Matthew Christiansen.
Now Eryk, 2, is fed nutrition shakes, along with anti-seizure medication, through a tube in his stomach.
He can't chase after his big sister anymore. He has to relearn how to walk, something the toddler had mastered when he was 10 months old.
Eryk laughs less, hurts more. His future is uncertain.
That also is because of Christiansen.
A judge on Thursday sentenced the Everett man, 32, to more than 10 years in prison for beating Eryk when the boy was 15 months old.
For four days in Septemeber, Christiansen baby-sat Eryk and the boy's 3 year old sister while the children's parents were at work.
For four days, the 300 pound man assault Eryk.
"I put my trust in the wrong person and my son is paying the price for it," Eryk's mother, Rachel Peirce, said. "He has a life sentence."
The boy suffered a broken jaw, rib fractures, a broken arm and a severe head injury that required surgery. He's scheduled to go back under the knife next Friday to replace damaged bone in his skull with a plastic cap.
"I can not imagine anyone doing this, but he did. What he did was horrible," Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry said during the sentencing hearing.
Public defender Caroline Mann said Christiansen's actions on Sept. 13 were out of character for the father of two. He and his wife were in the early stages of filing for divorce. He was watching four children while alone, including his own son, who at 2 was starting to misbehave.
"He found himself overwhelmed," she said.
Christiansen has taken responsibility for his actions, Mann said. Last month he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault of a child.
As part of the plea agreement, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tammy Bayard agreed to recommend a seven year prison term, the low end of the sentencing range.
Castleberry on Thursday said he couldn't in good conscience sentence Christiansen to anything less than the maximum penalty.
The abuse wasn't a momentary fit of ange, Castleberry said.
Christiansen repeatedly beat Eryk. The sbuse ended when Christinasen's wife found Eryk unconscience and called 911.
The boy was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and spent nearly two weeks in intensive care.
While Christiansen may have been overwhelmed with circumstances in his life, that was no excuse to break a child's jaw, ribs or arm, Castleberry said.
"Eryk will never be he same," said the judge.
Eryk left her arms healthy and happy, his mother said. He was returned battered, bruised and forever changed.
The boy's father, Russell Woodruff, told the judge he once looked forward to watching his son play basketball and football.
Now, he hopes his son will be able to walk and talk again.
MY PRAYERS GO OUT TO THIS FAMILY AND BELIEVE THIS "MAN" WILL NOT LAST LONG IN JAIL!!!
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Gloria
What a shame! It's sickening to hear that almost the same inquisition as my post. BUT I have always said that when someone does something like that to a child, or anyone for that matter, they should have the same done unto them + prison, if they lived through the torture they inflicted on another. Example John Cooley from Flordia, he is the sex offender that slipped through the cracks. He didn't report where he was living and kidnapped little Jessica, who was 10 and raped her then while she was still alive, put her into several garbage bags and buried her alive. These sick minded SOBs need to have the same thing done to them, that they bestowed on their victim. That's just my opinion, but I feel like me being honest on where I stand on these matters, well it's just how I am. Thanks for inviting me over.
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Hope you are enjoying a long weekend!
This post made me cry too ... I can't stand the thought of someone hurting a child!
By the way, mentioned you at my place!
Hugggggggggggz,
Taylor
I appreciated your post about your fellow employee - thank you for caring. And prayers for the family.
As to Crone's post - I do not think there really is anyway we can understand or answer a question like that for ourself on this earth. One thing that I have thought about just since yesterday is from a sermon I preached a few weeks ago about God and that is that we as people cannot understand or explain another person; and God is even beyond people so how can we ever expect to explain or undersand Him; so it is really impossible to understand or explain anything as large as this situation. It did remind me of the story of Job however in the Old Testament - alot of things we cannot understand in the world today.
Take care and have a pleasant weekend - June
where was the mother in all this time??????
is she going to be charged as well??????? or did I miss something in this story???
ron
He should be shot and quartered!!
There is more concern for the abusers than the victims and the sentence never fits the crime.
Bear Hugs,
PolarB ;)
We had a little girl in Kindergarten several years ago who had been shaken by her father at the age of 9 months. She was born perfect, but now has to go through life blind and crippled. She always had a smile on her beautiful face. We never were told what happened to the father, but hopefully he's paying big time for damaging God's precious creation.
Thank you for stopping by my blog. I appreciate the comment.
Blessings,
Karen