Parents guilty of starving teen daughter

A Harrison Twp. mother was sentenced to probation and the father pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of endangering children after their 13-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy was found to weigh 57 pounds.

Susanne Casavant, 48, was sentenced to community control sanctions for five years, court costs, a fine and treatment after pleading guilty to two counts of child endangering. The girls father, William Nath, 38, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to the same counts. Nath will be sentenced May 23. Officials said the girl is in the care of Children Services and is reportedly doing well.

The case evokes comparison to that of Makayla Norman,who had celebral palsy and died weighing just 28 pounds on March 1, 2011. Five people, including Normans mother and nurse, were convicted of crimes related to Normans death.

Judge Steven Dankof told Casavant that she was not to have any contact with her daughter. Dankof also said that if she violated the terms of her probation, she could face up to 11 years in prison.

A Montgomery County Sheriffs Office report from Aug. 15, 2012 shows that a deputy made contact with a Dayton Childrens Hospital social worker, who said a 13-year-old girl who had cerebral palsy and had difficulty speaking was brought in with suspicious bruising and malnutrition.

A Children Services case worker reported that a Meadowdale High School employee said that when the girl got to school she was very hungry and asked for another breakfast after eating her first serving then another after that. The report said school officials were concerned since the girl had lost several pounds since the year before.

The deputys report said the girl was weak, skinny, had no muscle tone and had bruises on the top portion of both hands and a recently healed cut above her right eyebrow.

Nath told authorities he adopted the girl five years before and that he monitored her eating because she eats too much too fast and he was concerned with her choking.

Nath also was reported as saying he didnt know how she got the bruises and said that she falls down a lot. Nath said the girl got the cut above her eye when she fell down the steps of the basement. Nath said he used a butterfly bandage to close the wound instead of getting stitches.

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Parents guilty of starving teen daughter