Wednesday, January 29, 2014

An Innocent Child Lost...

Since I got pregnant and gave birth to Lucas friends and family have been sending me article after article to read. Whether it’s about the best new baby gadget, a recall, a funny story I’ve been bombarded. Some I love so much that I share them with others and some I barely skim through. This morning however, I was sent an article that conjured up an image so horribly graphic I had to Google it to make sure it was real.  

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


MassachusettsDepartment of Children and Families

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