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Horrendous Parents: Rebecca Long, Jon Pomeroy, & Casey Anthony
 The Axiom Of Responsibility It isn't easy being a parent, and unless you have children yourself, it is impossible to fully understand the great impact children have on your life. Day in and day out, parenting is an enormous responsibility, and depending on your circumstances, there are times when it can be overwhelming. Often, there is a large gray area when it comes to the right way to handle a situation because different children and their different personalities require different parenting techniques. Nonetheless, living according to Magna Sententia, parents are responsible for their children's well-being. Unfortunately, as we all know, there are parents who do not care about their children or their children's well-being, and in instances of severe child abuse, the laws in our country are not strict enough to adequately protect children. A case in point: parents like Rebecca Long, 44, and Jon Pomeroy, 43, who allegedly isolated and starved their 14-year-old daughter down to 48 pounds, can only receive a maximum penalty of four years in prison if convicted of criminal mistreatment charges. ("Parents Starved 14-Year-Old Girl to 48 Pounds, Police Say") Long, the girl's stepmother, would "lock the teenager in her bedroom and deny her food and water" so much so that the girl "would sometimes suck condensation from the windows or sneak a drink from the toilet." ("Carnation Girl, 14, Found Starved To 48 Pounds") The girl fought to survive on "toast and a half a Dixie cup of water a day" and was "forced to sleep on the floor in her stepmom's room [with] a heavy dresser blocking the door." Although Child Protective Services (CPS) investigated Long and Pomeroy in March 2005, "the case was closed," and CPS has not been involved with the family since that time. (Watch "Girl, 14, starved to 48 lbs.") Thankfully, Long and Pomeroy are the exception and not the rule, and if we had our way, they would serve more than four years if found guilty of these horrific allegations. ("The lead detective on the case, who has been with the special-assault unit for 16 years, said 'he's never seen a case of abuse this bad.'") For the vast majority of us, parenting continues as our children reach adulthood, and in general, this is not a burden, but our way of showing our children we love them. Few of us are ever faced with the "'unthinkable,'" like George Anthony, who yesterday went before a grand jury to "testify against his own daughter [Casey]." ("Caylee's Mom Named In Murder Indictment") Subsequent to his testimony, Casey was arrested after being indicted "on seven counts, including capital murder, for the disappearance of her 3-year-old daughter," Caylee. We applaud George Anthony for having the courage to do what is honorable, albeit extremely difficult. While most parents in America are trying to do right by their children, there will always be parents like Long, Pomeroy, and Casey Anthony, as well as numbers of parents who abuse their children in much more subtle ways. Consequently, as a society, we must protect our children with laws that adequately punish parents who emotionally, physically, or verbally abuse their children. We also need to encourage parents who continue to do their best, even in incredibly challenging circumstances. Parents, remember that you don't have to be perfect, you just have to do your utmost to fulfill your responsibilities to your children and treat them respectfully. And if you are going through a difficult time, please know that there are those of us out here who feel for you and respect you for all of your hard work. Anna and Ellie Sherise
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Scumbag got sentenced today.
Scumbag got sentenced today. As far as I’m concerned, he should have recieved WAY more time. Our justice system is foul!
SEATTLE – A Carnation man was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in an extreme case of child abuse that included starving and withholding water from his young daughter for years.
The sentence against Jon E. Pomeroy was handed down Friday in King County Superior Court after he pleaded guilty Aug. 31 to one count of first-degree criminal mistreatment in the case.
Pomeroy’s daughter, now 15, and his son were in the courtroom as the sentence was pronounced, and watched their father being led away in handcuffs.
Prosecutors had asked for the maximum sentence of 41 months, and the judge granted it. Before his sentencing, Pomeroy read a tearful statement expressing remorse for his part in the abuse against his daughter.
“I wish there was … I would give anything to change what happened. I’m sorry,” he said, crying.
The detective handling the case said it was the worst case of child abuse he had ever seen in a 16-year career of investigating abuse and neglect.
Sheriff’s spokesman John Urquhart says the girl weighed only 48 pounds when rescued in August 2008, and had been given only little food and water for several years.
At Friday’s sentencing, Judge William Downing said, “She looked like a prisoner of war because she in fact was treated as a prisoner of war.”
Pomeroy and his wife, Rebecca Long, were arrested Oct. 10, 2008 – 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 on Aug. 13, 2008, 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,” 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, so the stepmother wouldn’t hear water running from the bathroom faucet.
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.
Dwight Thompson, who is now the daughter’s foster parent, said the girl planned to read a letter she wrote in court Friday – but she couldn’t go through with it.
“It was pretty tough. It was pretty tough,” he said. “But she was strong. You know a lot of kids couldn’t have even done what she did.”
The girl reported the abuse at her school in 2005, but nobody followed up on her cry for help.
Pomeroy offered no explanation in court as to why he allowed the abuse to go on for years.
Thompson told KOMO News that both children are now doing remarkably well, and they’ve totally recovered physically.
He also said the daughter is so bright and articulate she can do anything she wants, and that she’s talking about being a lawyer or scientist.
There is video if you follow this link. You’ll see the Wuss crying over his crime.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/59790117.html