Dakota Valkyrie
February 17th, 2009, 08:52 AM
http://i40.tinypic.com/2vlobi8.jpgA 38-year-old Sanford man pleaded no contest to torturing and abusing two of his children.
Wilbert Haynes McCullough Jr. beat them, tied them up, shocked them and pointed guns at their heads.
One day when he was angry, he spread garbage bags on the floor, forced them to kneel, then got a shotgun, pumped a round into its chamber, pointed it at each child's head and asked which one he should shoot first.
The children, a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, ran away last year. Their father was arrested a short time later.
He was to go on trial on 12 felony counts, six of them alleging torture or malicious punishment. Instead, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
He faced a maximum sentence of 360 years, said Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson.
His children told Seminole County deputies that their father terrorized them for years.
Both children said their father beat them repeatedly, using a belt, PVC pipe and a wooden paddle. He also donned boxing gloves, the boy said, and punched him in the head and chest.
One day, the girl told authorities, her father punished her by binding her hands and ankles, putting a sock in her mouth and shocking her with a Taser.
An older son was in a wheelchair, having broken his leg in five places in a motorcycle accident. McCullough would sometimes punch and slap his son's cast, causing the boy to scream, according to his arrest warrant.
The children's mother, Loreana McCullough, 37, is charged with three counts of child neglect. Authorities say she witnessed the abuse but did nothing to stop it.http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-meandad1709feb17,0,3487443.story
Wilbert Haynes McCullough Jr. beat them, tied them up, shocked them and pointed guns at their heads.
One day when he was angry, he spread garbage bags on the floor, forced them to kneel, then got a shotgun, pumped a round into its chamber, pointed it at each child's head and asked which one he should shoot first.
The children, a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, ran away last year. Their father was arrested a short time later.
He was to go on trial on 12 felony counts, six of them alleging torture or malicious punishment. Instead, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
He faced a maximum sentence of 360 years, said Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson.
His children told Seminole County deputies that their father terrorized them for years.
Both children said their father beat them repeatedly, using a belt, PVC pipe and a wooden paddle. He also donned boxing gloves, the boy said, and punched him in the head and chest.
One day, the girl told authorities, her father punished her by binding her hands and ankles, putting a sock in her mouth and shocking her with a Taser.
An older son was in a wheelchair, having broken his leg in five places in a motorcycle accident. McCullough would sometimes punch and slap his son's cast, causing the boy to scream, according to his arrest warrant.
The children's mother, Loreana McCullough, 37, is charged with three counts of child neglect. Authorities say she witnessed the abuse but did nothing to stop it.http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-meandad1709feb17,0,3487443.story