For all those that think that mother's do not or can not do horrible things to their children this case, like so many others, explodes that myth. The sad thing is that sometimes the monsters are real. I can not begin to express to how sad I feel that this poor little 9 year old girl not only had to suffer this awful abuse but she then had her extended family turn against her. This little 9 year old girl was brave enough to have the defense attorney question her and according to one report the defense attorney asked her if she was coached as to what to say. Her answer: "Yes. They told me to tell the truth."
WHEELING - Jessica Morris was called "the monster under the bed" and "the monster in the bed" Thursday before she was sentenced by Ohio County Circuit Judge James Mazzone to a lifetime in prison.
Morris, a 31-year-old mother of three from Wheeling, displayed no emotion as Mazzone sentenced her to 101 to 235 years in prison for sexually assaulting her daughter.
The sentence agreed with a recommendation by Ohio County Adult Probation Officer William Ball, the Ohio County Prosecutor's office and West Virginia law.
In his pre-sentence investigation report, Ball wrote that the victim's "own mother was the monster under the bed."
Testimony at Morris' October trial revealed that the victim disclosed to child psychologists and counselors that she had been sexually assaulted numerous times by her mother and allegedly by her mother's boyfriend, Jack Jones, who is scheduled to go on trial early next year for his part in the assaults.
The crimes began when the child was 3 years old and continued until she was 7.
Not only did the mother sexually abuse her own daughter she also allowed and assisted her boyfriend to do so as well. These crimes are the absolute worst crimes a person can commit.
Assistant Ohio County Prosecutor Jenna Wood said, "The evidence in this case is consistent. The victim came into this court and testified that her mother held her down while she was kicking and screaming while Jack Jones forcibly raped her. This child was repeatedly raped in her home with her mother present - and, more disturbingly, your honor, the evidence in this case is that her mother perpetrated upon her on in the absence of Jack Jones.
"This little girl was raped. She was raped of her childhood. She was raped of her innocence. She was raped of a mother's love.
"In nature, a mother of an animal will intercept a predator and sacrifice herself to protect her child. What we have in this courtroom today, is a mother that protected a predator and sacrificed her child. She is a predator. She is not worthy of any mercy.
"The victim deserves salvation and she will only have salvation if she is protected from this woman forever. There is no child more deserving of protection. There is no defendant more deserving of punishment. And, there is no case more deserving of justice.
"She has been described as the monster under the bed. She was the monster in the bed.
"And God bless this child whose monsters were real." - Read the entire article here
I think the prosecutor summed it up pretty well. Even though the article did not mention it, it appears from other articles on this topic that there was also physical evidence in the case:
But a child advocate, and victim witness coordinator told NEWS9 there is evidence against Morris.
“I just don’t know how you could look at the physical evidence that corroborates the story of the child and not believe,” said Sharon Parker. - article here
Monday, January 26, 2009
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I had a friend in high school who confided in me that when she was 11 years old, she was staying with her mother in a motel and at one point during the night she woke up to discover her mother penetrating her with her fingers. She said after that she never referred to her mother as "mom" but only by her first name. I had met her mother and was shocked. Her mother seemed like the most absolutely normal person you could ever know. I completely believe that this happened to my friend. It just goes to show that molesters do not necessarily look or act like monsters. Sometimes they have sweet faces and apparently sunny personalities.
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