A Mount Pleasant couple charged with homicide by child neglect were sentenced Thursday, two years after their son starved to death.
Charles Gordon and his wife Ashley pleaded guilty to the charges but tearfully asked Circuit Court Judge J.C. Nicholson for mercy in the 2010 case. They said their 9-month-old son Andrew was being fed but continued to lose weight. Ashley Gordon said she thought something might have been wrong but did not think the situation was that serious. It turned out the infant was slowly starving to death.
Prosecutors say the parents were not feeding Andrew properly. Assistant Solicitor Debbie Herring-Lash said the couple and another child would simply prop up the baby’s bottle in the crib. “The baby was not getting all of the nutrition,” she told the court Thursday.
During sentencing, the judge said some effort should have been made to get the infant the help he needed. Investigators had previously said they found dirty diapers and several baby bottles in the crib after Andrew’s death.
Ashley Gordon was sentenced to 9 years, while her husband got 7 years. The couple could have been sentenced to 20 years to life behind bars. Their attorney said Charles was undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in the Army in Afghanistan.
Sheree Bernardi contributed to this report
