Child Cuffed To Porch: Plea Expected Tuesday In Case Of Boy Found Chained To Porch

A child cuffed to a porch in North Carolina will have a plea from a former child welfare supervisor on Tuesday. According to ABC News, Wanda Sue Larson, 58, is due in court today after she was arrested in Nov. 2013, and charged with child abuse. These charges were filed after police found an 11-year-old boy chained to a porch with a dead chicken around his neck as a form of punishment.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Larson’s boyfriend, Dorian Harper, pleaded guilty to similar charges on March 18. He agreed to a plea deal, which is what Union County District Attorney Trey Robison requested. He was hoping that Larson would also agree to a plea deal because he did not want the young boy to have to testify, and relive the nightmare.

After the child cuffed to the porch case received a guilty plea from Harper, he was sentenced to six to 10 years in prison. It is believed that Larson will have a similar fate pending today’s hearing.

Larson had been fostering the child, who was allegedly beaten and starved by her and Harper. The ABC News report also indicates that the child was forced to sleep on the floor — in chains.

According to the Greensborough News and Record, Larson also fostered other children, all of whom are in the care of social services. It is unknown if any of the other children were ever mistreated by Larson or her boyfriend.

“Larson had been the boy’s legal guardian for years and was a supervisor with the Union County Department of Social Services. She had adopted four other children who were in the home when the couple was arrested. The children, ranging in age from 7 to 14, have been placed in social services custody in another county.”

In the case of the child cuffed to the porch, a plea deal is the best option for Larson. While many would have liked to see something more serious as a punishment for Harper (and for Larson too, presuming she received a similar sentence), protecting the welfare of the abused little boy is also important.

“It’s just shocking. It’s just disturbing that anyone would treat a child in such a manner,” said Captain Ronnie Whitaker who was at the home where the child was mistreated. The Inquisitr also reported that the home’s condition was “dire.”

[Photo courtesy of the Union County Jail via the Greensborough News and Record]