NEW YORK
Utica Observer-Dispatch
By Micaela Parker
Under the gaze of church members, Lucas Leonard and Christopher Leonard were told to repent for their sins.
The teens stood in the small sanctuary of Word of Life Christian Church on the evening of Oct. 11.
Lucas, 19, already had been confronted during a service that day about his desire to leave the Chadwicks church, new court documents allege, but questioning took a different tone during the beatings that ultimately would result in the death of Lucas and severe injury to his 17-year-old brother Christopher.
Nine people are accused of varying degrees of involvement in the 14-hour counseling session that spanned the evening of Oct. 11 into the morning of Oct. 12. Of those nine defendants, one has accepted a plea offer from the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office while five, as of Wednesday, have rejected their offers.
The session, led by Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, focused on a number of allegations she made into the teens’ conduct, according to court documents obtained from the county District Attorney’s Office by the Observer-Dispatch via a Freedom of Information Act request.
Utilizing her authority within the church, something that includes congregants’ belief that she was a prophet, the documents allege that she accused the teens, who were barred from leaving of having sexually abused numerous minors, several of whom have family ties to the teens; having fantasized about engaging in sexual relations with the pastor; having practiced witchcraft; and having planned and/or taken initial steps to kill their parents.
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