A Canadian Mountie tortured and starved his 11-year-old son because he thought that he was possessed. The Mountie further asked his brother, who was also a priest, to perform an exorcism on his son because he thought there was a demon living inside him.
The Mountie is now on trial. On Wednesday, he told the court his chilling testimony. He even considered himself “the victim” and claimed an exorcism was the last option, for his son was out of control.
“I thought the devil’s inside him. I saw his eyes and heard his voice.”
The Mountie’s wife is also on trial for failing to care for his basic needs and also for restricting their son; however, she was unwilling to testify.
It was reported on Ottawa Citizen that the Mountie admitted to performing an exorcism on the child sometime prior to 2012 and thereafter had the child chained up in the basement. He further admitted to burning his shackled, naked son with a barbecue lighter to punish him for “impure thoughts.”
When he was asked about the exorcism on the third day of court, the Mountie made the comment that his son “reminded him of the girl in the 1973 horror film, The Exorcist . ”
The #devi ‘s in the details:: https://t.co/Qvgom9HVk4 #Exorcism #Catholic #Pope pic.twitter.com/RFXh32TTz6
— Prophecy News (@prophecyXnews) April 15, 2016
The boy, now 14, tells investigators that he believed the exorcism was performed in his home because he recalled his father and the priest performing a Rite of Exorcism using a crucifix that had been on the kitchen wall.
While the boy’s parents were out shopping, the boy, who was 13 at the time and only weighed 50 pounds, escaped from his chains and went searching for water. Doctors said that the boy nearly starved to death.
Michael Boyce, a Crown attorney, asked the Mountie about the horrific punishment when he burned his naked son’s genitals and he appeared nervous as he testified.
“I was in a deep fog. I didn’t appreciate what I was doing to my son.”
The Mountie further stated that he didn’t know what he had done was morally wrong and continued to blame his mental capacity, as a doctor previously said that he had PTSD prior to his arrest in February 2013.
The Mountie continued to use his troubled childhood as excuses for his PTSD, including growing up in Lebanon, seeing dead bodies and bombs, and also claiming that he was raped as a young boy, National Post reports .
It was firmly reported by the prosecutor that none of these childhood problems ever came up until after his arrest and that he easily aced his Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) exams.
Last year, the priest testified and supported his brother. He claimed that he had memory problems due to his profession because he is trained to clear out facts, such as he did after each confession he attended to.
The prosecutor said that the Mountie exaggerated his son’s behavior to torture and abuse him. Further, the priest only heard about the boy’s “bad behavior” from the father.
Both the Mountie and the stepmother have been charged with forcible confinement, aggravated assault, and failure to provide the child with necessities. The Mountie is currently suspended without pay and both are free on bail. Furthermore, the Mountie has been charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm, as well as three counts of assault with a weapon. The stepmother has also been charged with one count of assault with a weapon.
The stepmother admitted in a 2013 interview that she did feel guilty for not protecting her son. During the testimony on Wednesday, the Mountie did say the stepmother did not witness any of the alleged abuse.
The Mountie is now on cross-examination as the trial continues. Publication bans the identity of the accused to protect the minor child involved in this case.
[Photo by Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Images]