Note to Mildred: Parents should not discipline children by starving them

Woman gets 4 years for starving son
Dick, Kimberly. The Advocate, March 6, 2007, pg. A1.

NEWARK -- Mildred McMannis admitted to starving her teenage son with cerebral palsy but said she loves him and didn't mean to hurt him.

Judge Jon Spahr sentenced McMannis, 40, of Newark, to four years in prison after she pleaded guilty Monday morning in Licking County Common Pleas Court to one count of child endangering.

The 5-foot, 6-inch teen weighed 76 pounds when Newark school officials notified Children's Services. He looked malnourished and had injuries to his face and body.

The teen gained 20 pounds during a hospital stay after being removed from McMannis' care in late August.

Darrell Faller, the teen's father who is fighting for custody, said the teen is doing well in a group home and attending high school.

"He still loves her," Faller said. "He thinks it's his fault -- that he deserved to be starved and locked in his room. He has a lot of questions to be answered."

While McMannis said her now-17-year-old son's diet was to prevent him from becoming diabetic, her other children claim McMannis fed the teen differently for discipline.

McMannis admitted to striking the boy for refusing to clean the floor after urinating in his pants.
"I love my son," McMannis said. "I hope at some point I am able to be reunited with him and show him I'm really sorry."

J. Tullis Rogers, McMannis' attorney, said McMannis, who struggled with several issues, including alcoholism and depression, tried to seek help for her son, who had a documented history of aggression.

When McMannis was arrested, Rogers said she weighed about 90 pounds and since has gained weight and sought alcohol treatment and counseling.

In a letter to her attorney, McMannis said, "In the end I will blame myself. I asked my family and MRDD for help, and I was unable to get help.

"No punishment can compare to the pain I feel. All I wanted to do is to be a good parent."

Chuck McMannis, Mildred's husband of 11 years, said if the system would have been there to help when the call was made, the situation may not have gotten so out of hand.

Neither he nor his wife have seen the teen since her arrest.

Chuck McMannis said his wife is sorry, but she didn't treat the teen as badly as had been portrayed.

"She was just trying to control him with food," Chuck McMannis said. "She was frustrated."

Rogers asked for less than a five-year sentence so McMannis would be able to apply for judicial release in as early as six months.

While two counts -- a third-degree felony child endangering and a misdemeanor domestic violence -- were dismissed, Licking County Assistant Prosecutor Dave Mallett said it was not a plea agreement.

McMannis pled to a second-degree felony charge, the most serious charge on the indictment, Mallett said.

McMannis received a jail credit of 176 days. Upon her release, she is subject to three years of parole.