Stepfather to serve 12 to 15 years in Haleigh Poutre case

(AP Photo)

Evidence presented at the trial included video of Haleigh Poutre, now 14, taken at the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston. She still struggles to perform basic, daily functions.

By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff

SPRINGFIELD -- A judge today sentenced the stepfather of Haleigh Poutre to 12 to 15 years in state prison for participating in a horrific pattern of child abuse, saying he had deprived Poutre of the "most precious gift" of a normal childhood.

"It is as serious an offense as one can commit," said Hampden Superior Court Judge Judd Carhart in a packed courtroom. "She'll never be a normal teenager or adult."

The sentencing of Jason Strickland comes three years after the case drew national attention when the state prematurely sought to remove Poutre’s life support after she fell into a coma from a near-fatal head injury in September of 2005. A few months later, just when the state won court approval to end her life, saying her condition was "hopeless," the 11-year-old girl became alert, breathing on her own and responding to commands.

Strickland, a 34-year-old auto mechanic who has been held in jail since he was convicted three weeks ago, showed no reaction when the judge announced the sentence, a demeanor he maintained throughout his three-week trial. His attorney, Alan Black, had pleaded with the court to allow Strickland to serve one year in a county jail. Black, who is appealing the verdict, said Strickland had no prior criminal record and "this quiet man from North Carolina will have great difficulty coping with" state prison.

But the judge rejected that plea. Describing the case as one of the most painful in his legal career, Carhart imposed prison time closely in line with prosecutor Laurel Brandt's request for 14.5 to 17.5 years at MCI-Cedar Junction, a state prison in Walpole.

In calling for a harsh penalty for Strickland, Brandt recounted some of her own conversations in the past year with Haleigh, which included the girl using an alphabetized board to help her communicate. Brandt said Haleigh "remembers being abused" and recalls having bruises and "red marks" as a result of being struck with hands, feet and "with a belt."

The prosecutor said that Haleigh, now 14, exhibits a psychological condition common among child abuse victims: She continues to believe that she acts in ways worthy of punishment. Brandt said that when the girl arrived at the Franciscan Hospital for Children, the pediatric rehabilitation facility in Brighton where she now resides, she expressed "negative self-image." Brandt said that, in one interaction she had with the girl, Haleigh thought she was confined to the hospital because "she had been bad."

At one point, Brandt said, Haleigh wrote on her alphabet board, "I stole."

When Brandt asked what she stole, the girl spelled out, "Food."

The prosecutor asked her why she took food, and the girl replied: "Hungry."

During the trial, Brandt told jurors that Jason and his wife, Holli Strickland, who had adopted Haleigh, often deprived Haleigh of food, as well as excluded her from activities they allowed the two other children in the family to enjoy.

The stepfather alone faced criminal charges because, in a bizarre twist in the case, Holli Strickland died shortly after the couple was accused of abuse. Police say Holli, shortly after being released on bail, died in an apparent murder-suicide with her grandmother.

During the three-week trial, Strickland, who took the stand, portrayed himself as a detached -- but kindly -- paternal presence in the home. He said he noticed many wounds on Haleigh, but he believed his wife's explanation that Haleigh had a psychological condition that caused her to hurt herself. That explanation had also been accepted, over a five-year period, by the child's pediatricians, therapists, and state social workers, who dismissed allegations from neighbors and teachers that Haleigh was being abused in her home.

Given that even doctors and social workers missed signs that Haleigh was being abused, Jason Strickland's mother today angrily asked outside the courtroom why her son alone is bearing sole responsibility for the girl's injuries.

"My son is a scapegoat," said Bobbi Strickland, who traveled from North Carolina to attend the sentencing. "Jason has never abused anyone in his life."

In an awkward moment, Strickland's mother accused others of letting down Haleigh, including Allison Avrett, Haleigh's biological mother who stood just feet away. After suffering from substance abuse and mental health problems, Avrett signed legal papers eight years ago allowing Haleigh to be adopted by Holli Strickland, who was Avrett's sister.

Avrett, who now says she was misled by her sister, wept today after the sentencing, saying no amount of prison time for Jason Strickland will help Haleigh.

"It doesn't impact Haleigh's life," she said. "My main concern is Haleigh."

The jury ultimately found that Jason Strickland may not have dealt the near-fatal blow to Haleigh's head, but he was guilty of "recklessly permitting" the injury to occur. The panel deliberated for more than 13 hours over three days before announcing its verdict just before Thanksgiving, finding him guilty of five of the six counts, including several instances of striking Haleigh in the summer of 2005.
When reached by telephone in the days after the verdict, several jurors declined to comment other than to say they concurred with the verdict. One middle-aged female juror, who did not want her name published, said she believed the prosecution's key witnesses -- Haleigh's sister and a babysitter -- who described Strickland as being part of the horrific abuse inflicted on Haleigh.
This juror said she believed Holli Strickland primarily abused Haleigh, but that the stepfather participated in some beatings. And even if he did not cause the most severe brain injuries, "he knew what was going on and turned a blind eye to it."

Patricia Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email