Almost two years ago, a sheriff’s deputy in Union County, North Carolina–southeast of my hometown of Charlotte–found an 11-year-old boy chained to a porch with a dead chicken hanging around his neck. That discovery ultimately led to the arrest of the boy’s legal guardian, child welfare supervisor Wanda Sue Larson, and her boyfriend, Dorian Harper, on charges that they abused the boy and four other children. The boy, now 13 years old and back home with his parents, got a chance to talk about his ordeal for the first time to WBTV in Charlotte. He revealed that while Harper was the primary abuser, Larson shares responsibility for what he had to endure as well.
WBTV interviewed “Michael” in late May, and aired the interview for the first time today. Watch an excerpt here.
For those who missed it, Michael was chained to the porch as punishment for accidentally killing the chicken earlier in the day. To add to his humiliation, Larson and Harper hung the chicken around his neck–which is how the deputy found him. He was “really nervous and happy” at the prospect of finally being rescued. When the deputy saw Michael and asked what was going on, Michael said he told the deputy that Larson and Harper “didn’t want me to run away”–knowing that would immediately make the deputy suspicious. When the deputy asked where Larson and Harper were, Michael said they were inside.
When deputies finally got inside, they found horrific conditions that made national headlines–among other things, feces on the floor and no running water. Prosecutors said that Larson and Harper didn’t allow the kids to take baths that often. Michael backed this up, saying that he was only allowed to bathe when “we were going places.” He said that he spent most of the day locked in a room that was infested with fleas that came off Larson and Harper’s dogs.
Prosecutors offered Larson and Harper plea deals to spare Michael and the other children the emotional load of having to testify. Had he gotten the chance to take the stand, Michael says he would have told the judge that Larson shares responsibility for what happened to him. He said that his room was pockmarked with holes from when both Larson and Harper swung at him and missed.
Prosecutors pounded heavily on how Harper twisted Michael’s fingers and fingernails with pliers, slashed him in the face with a knife, and burned his face with live electric wires. He twisted Michael’s pinky so much that infection set in. However, Michael said that Larson used the pliers on him as well at times and also whipped him with a belt or stick. Michael also said that there were times that he bled, and Harper and Larson either didn’t do anything or crudely stitched it up.
Even without Michael’s testimony, though, prosecutors had enough evidence to send Harper and Larson to jail for a long time. Indeed, they considered this couple’s actions so egregious that they spent almost two years in jail on a combined million dollars bond. Instead, they both received “sentences” that barely qualify as phrases. Harper accepted a sentence of six to ten years in prison, while Larson got 17 months in prison and five years’ probation. With credit for time served, she was released nine days after her plea. In light of the conditions at that house–conditions for which Larson shares blame–the minimum acceptable plea offer should have been 15 years.
Michael is seeing a therapist to help him through what will likely be a lifetime of healing. However, it took him awhile to tell anyone about it. He said that he didn’t want his mother to feel “sad and hurt” because of Larson and Harper’s actions. He also has trouble sleeping at night, and sleeps fully dressed in case he needs to run away. After reading Michael’s ordeal, I’m convinced more than ever that prosecutors failed him by not giving real sentences to the people who did this to him. Here’s hoping that he makes a full recovery.
