Guilty Please Anticipated in Child Abuse Case Tuesday

larsonThe woman whose 11-year-old child in her care was found on her porched shackled with a dead chicken tied to his neck is expected by prosecutors in Union County to plead guilty on Tuesday.

Wanda Sue Larson, 58, was arrested November 2013 along with her long-time boyfriend Dorian Harper, 58, in the case. A sheriff’s deputy found the boy when investigating another call about pigs Larson and Harper owned being loose in the area.

Larson is a former supervisor for social services. She was legal guardian to the boy since he was around three years old and had adopted four more children, from ages 7 to 14, who were living in the home. All of the children were placed in the custody of social services in a different county.

Judge Reuben Young is expected to preside over her case in Union County Superior Court.

Harper’s trial was in the middle of March and ended with an unexpected plea of guilty before the opening arguments. Harper received a sentence of six years, 3 months minimum and ten and a half years max. The sentence could have been twice that if he had continued with the trial.

During testimony, Harper’s abuse of the boy was detailed, which included using a knife to cut the boy’s face, twisting his pinkie finger with pliers, and using electrical wire to burn his face.

The boy was shackled to the porch during the day and slept in a locked room chained to a railroad track during the night. The indictment in the case said Larson did not seek medical treatment for the boy after each time Harper hurt him.

The charges facing Larson include false imprisonment, felony child abuse, and maiming for alleged abuse occurring from August 2013 – November 2013. She was also accused of failing willfully to act in her public figure duty because of her profession.

Each of the couple lost their jobs after the arrests: Larson from her position with child protective services and Harper from an emergency room nurse job with Monroe hospital.

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