Texas teen was beaten, had hot cooking oil poured on her after refusing arranged marriage: police

Parents Sentenced in Beating Death of Son at Word of Life Church

The parents who participated in the 2015 beatings of their teenaged sons at a New York church, killing one and seriously injuring the other, were sentenced to prison on Monday after previously pleading guilty to assault, PEOPLE confirms.

Bruce Leonard, 66, was sentenced to 10 years, according to court records. He faced a potential 15-year sentence after accepting a plea bargain last year. He agreed to testify against others accused in the beatings at the Word of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks, a small hamlet located just six miles outside of Utica, New York.

Deborah Leonard, 60, was sentenced to five years. She, too, agreed to a plea deal contingent on her testimony.

The couple’s 19-year-old son, Lucas Leonard, spent the last 12 hours of his life behind the insular church’s walls, as he and his brother, Christopher, now 18, were kicked, whipped, and punched, with intermittent breaks.

The beatings began soon after both brothers approached congregation leaders with their plans to leave the church, which some former members insist is a cult.

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But Christopher, who sustained severe injuries during the beatings, would later testify that he and his brother had molested the children of several of the church’s members, including his half-sister’s infant child.

Prior to Christopher’s admission, prosecutors had long claimed the allegations of abuse against the Leonard brothers were baseless, and that the church’s pastor, Tiffanie Irwin, falsely accused the two teens of sexually abusing their younger siblings and cousins over the course of several years.

Irwin, 30, avoided murder charges by pleading guilty to manslaughter and assault and was sentenced to 12 years.

Joseph Irwin, Tiffanie’s 23-year-old brother, also pleaded guilty to first-degree gang assault and second-degree assault and was sentenced to eight years in prison. David Morey, 27, and his mother, 55-year-old Linda Morey, both pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault and were sentenced to five years.

Tiffanie’s mother, Traci Irwin, and her son, Daniel Irwin, pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment and were both sentenced to two years.

Sarah Ferguson, the teens’ half-sister, was the only defendant involved in the 2015 attack to decline a plea deal. In July 2016, she was convicted of manslaughter and assault but was cleared of murder. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

 

Those people are nuts and I don't care for them to say the least ...disgusting.

 

There are bad people all over the world. I don't get why we categorize a whole religion of 1.8 billion people as all bad. This couple will hopefully get what they deserve in prison and I wish upon them every bit of it. They indeed should have hot grease poured on them every day as a punishment. What I don't agree with is stereotyping an entire religion because of the acts of a few individuals. There are many non religious people out there that are committing horrible acts of violence. There are many people of other faiths committing horrible acts of violence.
Guess what? This is human nature. It isn't an Islamic thing or an Arabic thing. It isn't a Pakistani or Turkish thing. It isn't an Indian or American thing. It isn't a Christian or Jewish thing! It is just human nature ... there are bad people all over this globe. Stop pointing your fingers at a certain group of people. All you are creating is hate and tension towards innocent people who do not associate with this type of scum. Educate yourself or at least use common sense. I'm sure you have seen crimes committed by non Muslims

 

You're kidding right? Many muslims aren't violent, but the one's who are radicalized make up for the ones who aren't. Ever heard of ISIS, or Al-Queada, or the Taliban? What other radical form of religion believes that strapping a bomb to ones body and exploding it in an attempt to kill "non-believers" is an acceptable practice? I don't see mass murder reports where a Christian, or a Hindu, or a Buddhist do such large scale attacks in the name of their god. Yes, there are radical segments of many religions, but none, short of the Christian Crusades, have killed more innocent people than those who claim they are doing it in the name of Allah.

 

Mean while,back in Missouri:

Hundreds of Missouri’s 15-year-old brides may have married their rapists

 

No I'm not kidding. Seriously man get educated you sound like Fox News. Try thinking for yourself instead of being fed with media ########

 

The big mistake the parents made was deciding to live in Texas I think. Probly should have chosen North Carolina or West Virginia.

 

Of course there are bad people of every religion doing bad things all over the world.

Of course I have seen non-muslims commit crimes.

I stopped watching the news or reading the papers years ago. But I find I can't completely insulate myself from it. TV on in the break room, news snippet pops up on my e-mail, pick up a paper at the barber shop from force of habit.

I lost count of how many beatings, stonings, and acid attacks I've heard of in the past few years. And again, I don't seek these reports out: the news FINDS me.

Each one of the stories has a common thread: either the woman refuses an arranged marriage, or the dowry is insufficient.

Another common thread is that these events either take place in a predominantly Muslim country, or a Muslim enclave of a non-Muslim country.

OK, many explain that away as a "cultural thing". But in a Muslim country, culture and religion are tightly intertwined to a point that they nearly are the same thing.

I know all Muslims don't do these things.

My personal philosophy is that everyone gets a fair shake until they prove to be an arsehole.

Just calling it as I see it. If that offends you, well.........enjoy your day.

 

Speaking of Buddhists.They've killed at least 10,000.

Opinion | Burma is bulldozing history and memory

 

Didn't offend me. At least you're giving everyone a fair shake. I lost count of how many school shootings we've had recently. I too give everyone a fair chance before judging them. That's all I ask for is that we don't discriminate against a group as a whole. Because most of the time innocent people get targeted for the acts of the filth on this Earth.