It happened five years ago, almost to the
day, in Illinois and the State Attorney said it was “the worst case of child
neglect we have seen since the turn of this century.”
A five month old little boy, Benjamin
Sargent, was found strapped in his car seat that was placed his crib 8 days
after he’d been dropped off at his parents’ house by his grandmother. During
those 8 days his parents played video games, listened to music and ate pizza
while leaving poor little Benjamin alone without care.
When he was found his hands were clenched and
his eyes were open. Court transcripts say he died of an infection from sitting in his own feces for days. He weighed
just 2 pounds more than his birth weight at the time of his discovery.
I have literally been shaken to the core by
this story and can’t get it out of my head. What hit me was the way in which he
was found. There have been times when Lucas has woken up in the middle of the
night crying and is inconsolable for one reason or another and when I go to him
he is screaming with his eyes as wide as can be and his little hand clenched so
tight his knuckles are white. Having seen my own son in this position I cannot
even begin to image the fear that baby was feeling. Sitting there wondering why
mommy and daddy weren’t coming. Feeling the discomfort of his diaper and
literally starving to death.
The rage I felt in the pit of my stomach toward
those parents was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I’ve talked about this in
the past, but now that I’m a mother any and all stories about children being
hurt or killed affect me in ways I can’t describe.
This one hit especially close to home because
Lucas is just shy of five months and I know how completely dependent on me he
is. The mother in this story claimed that she “looked at the baby in the crib
and presumed he was sleeping” so she said she “stuck a bottle between the baby
and the side of the car seat so that when he woke up, he could grab it and feed
himself.” Is this woman for real? What five month old can truly feed himself?
Yes, he may reach for the bottle or put his hands on it when he’s being fed,
but he is most certainly not picking it
up and feeding himself. I find it
very hard to believe that this woman thought about her son for even one
millisecond during those 8 days.
I am glad to hear that they are being
prosecuted to the full extent of the law. After being charged with first degree
murder, the State Attorney also said that based on the “brutal and heinous” act
that he will be seeking the death penalty as well. Since their arrest and
charge, Benjamin’s father has been sentenced to the maximum of 100 years in
prison for a “complete and total lack of remorse” in the death of his son, and Benjamin’s
mother was sentenced to 50 years after pleading guilty to first degree murder –
she will not be eligible for parole. While this in a small way is a victory for
advocated of abused and neglected children, it doesn’t bring any closure to the
needless death of this little boy.
After reading the initial article and
subsequent ones I can only hope that these two rot in hell. I don’t say that
freely about anyone but in my mind those who harm innocent children deserve nothing
but the worst possible punishment.
I for one know that when I get home tonight I
will pick up my little guy, look him in the eye and remind him just how much he
is loved.
Please if you ever see or hear of a child in danger report it to your local state
and police agencies – all children
deserve to be safe from harm.
"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are" - Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Sarget
08/27/2007 - 02/2008
08/27/2007 - 02/2008
MassachusettsDepartment of Children and Families
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