Couple pleads guilty to child abuse

A Honesdale couple plead guilty to child endangerment Thursday, which included forcing the 12-year-old victim to hold almost fifty pounds of gym weights for hours at a time, as a form of punishment

Nathaniel A. Smith, 35, and Carla Mae Haviland, 40, both of Sunrise Ave., Honesdale, PA, each plead guilty to Endangering the Welfare of Children, a misdemeanor charge

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, between July 2009 and October 2009, the victim received this punishment daily. The victim also was given little food

The victim was caught stealing lunch money at the school, and the school principal confronted the victim about it. After the victim explained that Smith and Haviland did not provide lunch money and rarely fed the victim at home, the principal notified police for further investigation

Smith and Haviland forced the victim to hold 46 pounds of gym weights, for anywhere between 5 and 12 hours a day, which occurred daily. The victim described the weight as being two 8-pound weights, a 10 -pound weight, and a 20-pound weight, stacked on top of each other, according to the affidavit

The victim was allowed to go to the bathroom during the punishment time, only if  permission was given by Smith or Haviland, but the victim was not allowed to eat

The victim sometimes went days whole days without food according to the affidavit. 

On one occasion, Smith accused the victim of being a liar, and shaved the victim's head

Poor oral hygiene was the result of never being to a dentist, and the victim had not visited a doctor in two years

The victim was removed from the home and put in foster care by Wayne County Children & Youth Services

Smith and Haviland prohibited the victim from having friends over and the victim was not allowed to leave the house, except for school. But that did not hold off the abuse. In one instance, Haviland kept the victim from  school, and proceeded to force the victim to hold weights. The victim recalled holding the weights from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with no food. Want to find out more about child hygiene ?

Nathaniel A. Smith was represented by Attorney Janine Edwards, and Carla Mae Haviland was represented by Attorney Scott Bennett. Both will receive their sentence on June 10, 2010. They are under the supervision of Wayne County Probation Department