NEW YORK
Seattle Times
By Rick Rojas
BENJAMIN MUELLER
The New York Times
CLAYVILLE, N.Y. — The pastor of a secretive church in central New York was holding a meeting to address concerns that a young congregant wanted to defect when other church members began to beat him in an attack that eventually stretched over 10 hours, a prosecutor said Thursday.
The congregant, Lucas Leonard, 19, later died, and his younger brother, Christopher Leonard, 17, remained hospitalized Thursday with serious injuries inflicted during the beating, which, authorities said, started after Sunday services and lasted until early Monday. The brothers’ parents were charged with manslaughter in the death. Four other adults, including the victims’ half-sister, are charged with assault in the younger brother’s beating.
A police spokesman said counseling sessions like the one that preceded Lucas Leonard’s death were routine at Word of Life Church in New Hartford and were meant to deal with questions about adherents’ spiritual standing. The spokesman said investigators had no indication the sessions had led to beatings before.
Defense lawyers for the brothers’ parents, Bruce Leonard, 65, and Deborah Leonard, 59, offered a different account of the meeting, describing it as a family gathering to discuss the brothers’ behavior toward relatives and church members. A lawyer for Deborah Leonard, Devin Garramone, said, “It had something to do with the boys maybe touching some of the other children in the church.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.