Positions: Primary, Ward executive secretary, Youth leader, - Mission:
no - Alleged:
1,
Criminal case(s): Convicted, - Alleged church actions: Excommunicated,
updated Jul 28, 2026 - request update | add info
Positions: 
Alleged:
Criminal case(s): 
Richard Jay Swank was an LDS church member in Apple Valley, California.
According to court records Swank abused a child over a period of 14 years.
In 2009 Swank was “convicted in August of 11 counts of sexual child abuse and one count physical abuse including torture” Victorville Daily Press
Richard Swank is a prisoner in San Bernardino, County and is eligible for parole in March 2029.
Swank is a registered sex offender as of July 2026.
If you have any information on Swank’s LDS membership history please contact us.
Have any info on this case? Contact FLOODLIT.
Sources
- Swank gets life plus 96 years for abusing son,
- Richard Jay Swank,
- Richard Jay Swank,
- Swank denies abusing son,
- Abuse victim moves courtroom to tears,
- Victim recounts years of sexual abuse by his father,
- Judge gags reporter,
- Ex-educator pleads not guilty to sex abuse of son,
- Mother of sexually abused child breaks her silence ,
- Richard Jay Swank,
- People v. Swank, E049650, Super.Ct.No. FVI901170 (Cal. App. Feb 23, 2011),
-
1. Swank gets life plus 96 years for abusing son
VICTORVILLE • A former school psychologist convicted of continuous sexual and physical abuse of his son over a 14-year period was sentenced to life plus 96 years Thursday morning by Judge Eric Nakata.
Richard J. Swank, 47, of Apple Valley was convicted in August of 11 counts of sexual child abuse and one count physical abuse including torture.
Swank sat seemingly nonchalant and showing no emotion as impact statements from the victim, three of his siblings and Swank's ex-wife were read or presented to the court just prior to sentencing.
Deputy District Attorney Kathleen DiDonato said the victim did not have anything prepared to read but gave an emotional impact statement that came from the heart.
"I can't begin to describe the hell I endured as a child and missing all the simple things in life that should have been there but never were," the victim told the court. "I hope my father lives for a very long time so he will be reminded on a daily basis of what he did to me. But he never broke me, he never conquered me, all he did was improve my resilience."
The victim is now a three-year U.S. Army tank crewman veteran who has been decorated for actions in Iraq. The Daily Press does not publish the names of sex crime victims without their consent.
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2. Richard Jay Swank
nown Aliases
Description
Date of Birth:
10/15/1961
Gender:
MALE
Height:
5'08"
Weight:
210 lbs
Eye Color:
BROWN
Hair Color:
BROWN
Ethnicity:
WHITE
Offenses
Offense Code:
286(c)(2)
Description:
SODOMY BY USE OF FORCE OR INJURY
Year of Last Conviction:
---
Year of Last Release:
---Offense Code:
288.5(a)
Description:
CONTINUOUS SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILD
Year of Last Conviction:
---
Year of Last Release:
---Offense Code:
288a(c)(2)
Description:
ORAL COPULATION BY FORCE OR FEAR
Year of Last Conviction:
---
Year of Last Release:
---Offense Code:
289(a)(1)
Description:
PRIOR CODE: SEXUAL PENETRATION WITH FOREIGN OBJECT BY FORCE/FEAR
Year of Last Conviction:
---
Year of Last Release:
---The Department of Justice has no information about a subsequent felony incarceration for this registrant
Risk AssessmentTo learn more about risk assessments, view our Risk Assessment page
Addresses
Last Reported Address:
INCARCERATED
Scars/Marks/TattoosSHOULDER, LEFT UNKNOWN
SHOULDER, LEFT
ARM, RIGHT UPPER
ARM, RIGHT UPPER UNKNOWN -
3. Richard Jay Swank
The information displayed below is subject to change and may update daily.
Name
SWANK, RICHARD JAY
CDCR Number
AB5474
Age
64
Current Location
Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran
Admission Date
Nov 24 2009
Commitment County
San Bernardino
Parole Eligible Date
March, 2029The Parole Eligible Date displayed above is subject to change.
The parole eligible date shown above is the first date this incarcerated person is (or was) eligible for a parole suitability hearing by the Board of Parole Hearings (board) to determine if they should be released. The incarcerated person is eligible for a parole hearing under the Elderly Parole Program because they are not condemned or sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Depending on the incarcerated person’s current sentence, their first parole hearing will be scheduled once they have either 1) been incarcerated at least 20 continuous years and at least reached the age of 50, or 2) been incarcerated at least 25 continuous years and at least reached the age of 60.
BOARD OF PAROLE HEARINGS: For more information about the Board of Parole Hearings, please visit the Board of Parole Hearings’ website.
For more information on parole suitability hearings under the Elderly Parole Program, please visit the board’s Elderly Parole Hearings Overview.
Board of Parole Hearing's Actions
September 2029 Parole Suitability Hearing Pending Tentative date for parole suitability hearing
September 20, 2023 Consultation Past Incarcerated person's consultation was conducted
Victim NotificationVictims who would like to request notice and an opportunity to attend this incarcerated person's parole suitability hearing or who would like to request notice of this incarcerated person’s release must register with CDCR’s Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services. For further information, or to inquire about court ordered restitution, please visit CDCR’s Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services website using the "Victim Services" button on this page.
Board of Parole Hearings
For more information about the Board of Parole Hearings, please visit the Board's website -
4. Swank denies abusing son
VICTORVILLE • The father accused of sexually and physically abusing his son for more than 14 years was called to the stand on Thursday morning by his Defense Attorney, Valerie Ross.
Richard Jay Swank, 47, has been listening to testimony for the last three days from his son, now 24, four siblings, the mother and other family members — all telling the exact same accounts about the unspeakable sexual and physical abuse the victim suffered under his father.
Now it was Swank’s turn to tell his side of the story. But he didn’t say much.
After the hundreds of statements made by the family about the abuse, it took Ross only about 15 minutes to question her client, with nearly every question drawing the same one-word response.
“Did you beat your son at age four into a limp body?” Ross asked.
“No,” Swank replied.
“Did you apply vice grips to various parts of your son’s body?”
“No.”
When Ross asked Swank to explain why all the family was saying the same thing about him and the abuse, he simply said: “I can’t.”
Questioning by Deputy District Attorney Kathleen DiDonato drew the same response, with Swank denying responsibility for any of the numerous scars his son’s head still bears.
To read the full story, see Friday's edition of the Daily Press. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call 760-241-7755 or click here.
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5. Abuse victim moves courtroom to tears
VICTORVILLE • Most of the courtroom was moved to tears on Tuesday by a man who, as a boy, allegedly suffered years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of his father.
Even Deputy District Kathleen DiDonato — who has tried dozens of child abuse cases — wept.
But it wasn’t his testimony of the abuse that made an impact on the courtroom. It was the accomplishments and sacrifice of the 24-year-old victim — now an Army tank crewman decorated for his military service.
As accused child torturer Richard Jay Swank sat just a few feet away, prosecutor DiDonato asked the victim to describe the rows of medals and ribbons on his uniform.
“This is the Good Conduct Medal,” the Army Spc. 4 said.
“It is given to soldiers who have never had any disciplinary action whatsoever for more than three years.”
The soldier, whose name is being withheld, spent 15 months in Iraq and pointed to a medal he said he received on Dec. 25, 2008, while standing in the rain in Northern Iraq. It was the Army Commendation Medal, awarded for helping to keep his men alive.
“This is the Army Combat Action Badge,” he said, while pointing out another medal. “It is presented to any soldier that is under direct enemy hostile fire.”
In a deliberate and firm tone the young soldier told the jury, “I am very proud of all my medals and ribbons. I have earned each and every one of them. It shows what I have become since leaving home.”
Tears welled up in the eyes of DiDonato and others in court, bringing the proceedings almost to a halt. Judge Eric Nakata called a recess.
Swank a 47-year-old former teacher and school psychologist from Apple Valley, is charged with 20 felony sex crimes including continuous sexual abuse of a child and torture.
He has 16 children.
Also on Tuesday Dr. Frank Sheridan, Chief Medical Examiner for San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Coroner Division, testified about an examination he conducted on the victim in June.
He said he found eight different old scars on the victim, most of them to the back of the head.
“There is no pattern to the scars, so they are a number of separate injuries that occurred over time,” Sheridan said.
“They are consistent with what the victim told investigators about being hit on the head.”
Two siblings and the victim have given the exact same testimony about how the victim was treated.
They say he was forced to eat only scraps of food scraped from other family member’s leftovers onto one plate. He wasn’t allowed to have utensils and had to eat with his hands.
He never had a bed the whole time he lived at home and was usually handcuffed or chained to the bathtub, in a coffee table storage bin or in a large cardboard box, according to testimony.
One sister testified that vice grips were routinely applied to the victim’s groin area. She told of going into a closet trying to drown out the screams of her brother being tortured.
As the victim continued his testimony with graphic descriptions of the sexual and physical abuse, his father, Richard Swank, was sobbing and holding his head in his hands.
Swank, a former teacher and school psychologist, was sitting in a wheelchair in court and wearing a patch over his left eye.
During testimony, two family members said the only time they remember their father using the wheelchair was to get out of work or to get through airport security quicker.
Other than that, they say he never used it at home.
Another sister and the mother are expected to testify today.
Patrick Thatcher may be reached at 951-6227 or at pthatcher@VVDailyPress.com.
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6. Victim recounts years of sexual abuse by his father
VICTORVILLE • A witness testified Monday that his father, a former school psychologist, substitute teacher and author, sexually abused him for eight years and once put a gun to his head.
The victim, now 24, recounted years of alleged sexual abuse by Richard Jay Swank, 48, of Apple Valley.
In his testimony the victim told of sexual, physical and mental abuse by his father that lasted from age 10 until he left home at 18.
The victim is one of 15 children ranging in age from 3 to 26 and reportedly the only one to suffer the sexual abuse.
His mother, who said she divorced Swank last fall, and four of his brothers and sisters were in the courtroom as the victim explicitly detailed the abuse.
He didn’t report the abuse because he was fearful of his father who threaten to kill him.
Following one sexual incident the victim testified that his father put a loaded 9 mm Beretta handgun to his head and said he would kill him and anyone he told.
The victim said the last incident of sexual abuse occurred a week before his 18th birthday. He said he left home soon after turning 18 and just wanted to disappear.
The testimony was part of a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to hold Swank for trial. Judge Bridgid McCann ordered Swank to stand trial.
Swank is a former substitute teacher for the Adelanto School District and a district psychologist for Keppel Union Elementary School District in Pearblossom.
He is charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse including continuous sexual abuse of a child and oral copulation by force and sexual penetration with a foreign object with force causing bodily injury.
Swank is author of “Simon’s Shadows,” a novel about sex, drugs and corruption in the California school system. Swank wrote two other books, "Shadows of Paris" and "Shadows Forever."
A review on Amazon.com states, “Each novel contains the author's personal experiences in public education.”
For the full story, read Tuesday's edition of the Daily Press. Call now to take advantage of our subscription special, 12 weeks for $25 (regular price is 12 weeks for $37.50). To subscribe to the Daily Press, call 241-7755 or click here.
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7. Judge gags reporter
"At the end of the day, editors decide what goes into the newspaper, not judges." Peter Scheer, executive director of California First Amendment Coalition
March 30, 2009 4:52 PM
NATASHA LINDSTROM Staff WriterVICTORVILLE • A local judge on Monday ordered a Daily Press reporter not to print the name of a witness who testified in open court - a move that legal experts said is patently against the law.
During a preliminary hearing for Richard Jay Swank, a former substitute teacher charged with repeatedly sexually abusing his son, Judge Bridgid McCann called a Daily Press reporter and the defense and prosecution attorneys to the bench. She then told reporter Patrick Thatcher not to print the last name of Swank's son, the victim that testified.
Several First Amendment experts say ordering a news publication not to print information obtained legally is unconstitutional prior restraint.
"Because of the First Amendment, a judge has no power to tell a news organization what it may or may not print," said Peter Scheer, executive director of California First Amendment Coalition. "Only in the most extraordinary circumstances can a judge forbid a newspaper from printing information that it has in hand and didn't break any law to get."
In this case, the Daily Press obtained the last name by simply being present in court.
The court did not mention the victim's last name on record; however, the victim, a U.S. Army soldier, wore a name badge with his last name plainly printed and visible to the audience in the Victorville courtroom.
"The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that any order attempting to stop a courtroom bystander from repeating what he or she sees and hears in open court violates the First Amendment," said First Amendment Attorney John Bussian of The Bussian Law Firm, PLLC.
If the judge felt compelled to protect the victim's privacy, she could have taken alternative legal approaches, such as having the victim testify in a separate room with a digitized image in court, or placing duct tape over the victim's name badge, said Jim Ewert, legal counsel for California Newspaper Publishers Association.
"No court has ever upheld prior restraint for this type of a limitation on media under these types of circumstances," said Ewert, adding that prior restraint would require the judge to convene a separate hearing to address compelling reasons for the censorship.
McCann's secretary said the judge declined to listen to an alternative proposed by Daily Press Editor Don Holland.
The Daily Press has a long-standing policy to not publish the names of sex crimes victims. Holland said the paper did not plan to publish the name of the victim in this case, but was alarmed at the judge's order and attempt to constrain a free press.
The newspaper plans to file a complaint with Commission on Judicial Performance.
Judges do have the right to make non-binding requests that publications not print certain material, Scheer said. But the final decision is up to the publication's editorial discretion.
"A judge could appeal to the newspaper's editorial judgment and simply urge it to withhold certain information, Scheer said. "There's nothing wrong with that - as long as fundamentally everybody understands that at the end of the day, editors decide what goes into the newspaper, not judges."
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8. Ex-educator pleads not guilty to sex abuse of son
APPLE VALLEY • A former teacher and school psychologist has been charged with repeatedly sexually abusing his son for at least eight years, officials said Thursday.
Richard Swank, 46, of Apple Valley was arrested at his home in the 16000 block of Chehalis Road March 13 after his son, now an adult, came forward to report the long-term abuse, officials said.
While serving a search warrant at Swank’s Apple Valley home, investigators found 18 firearms that family members claim Swank used for intimidation to keep them quiet about the abuse.
Swank is being held at West Valley Detention Center on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child, sexual penetration with a foreign object with force causing bodily injury, oral copulation with a person under the age of 16 and oral copulation by force.
Swank was a substitute teacher at the Adelanto School District beginning in 2000. He was also the district psychologist for Keppel Union Elementary School District in Pearblossom where he worked with at-risk youth.
The father of 16, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“This is a bad guy,” said Detective Rodney Gardner with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Crimes Against Children Detail.
The children’s mother, who is also a victim of physical abuse and possibly spousal rape, according to Gardner, was not aware of the sexual abuse of her son. The couple divorced in 2007 and she took custody of the seven minor children.
Although Swank’s ex-wife knew of the physical abuse, she thought she was Swank’s main target.
She was devastated when her son came home on leave from fighting in Iraq and told her about the alleged sexual abuse.
One of Swank’s children, who asked to remain anonymous, recalled her father as violent.
Both woman also shared that Swank would wear an eye patch, braces or use a wheelchair to garner pity even though Swank did not need the use of any of those devices.
According to Swank’s daughter, as soon as the siblings were old enough they all joined the military to escape from the abuse.
“I know that’s why I joined the Army,” she said. The victim also joined the military as soon as he became an adult.
The victim reported the abuse on March 12 to the Apple Valley station.
“I can’t fathom how much it took to face the man that degraded him for so many years,” Swank’s daughter said. “I am so proud of him.”
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Crimes Against Children Detail at (909) 387-3615.
To read more from the mother and daughter, see Friday's edition of the Daily Press for the full story. Call now to take advantage of our subscription special, 12 weeks for $25 (regular price is 12 weeks for $37.50). To subscribe to the Daily Press, call 241-7755 or click here.
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9. Mother of sexually abused child breaks her silence
VICTORVILLE • The jury sat mesmerized as they heard guilt-ridden testimony Wednesday afternoon from the mother whose son was sexually and physically abused by his father for years.
Richard Jay Swank, 47, is charged with 11 counts of sexual abuse and one count of physical abuse on a child, his son.
Monita Swank, who signed an immunity agreement before giving testimony and isn’t facing any charges, told how the abuse began when her now-ex-husband punched their son when he was just 4 years old.
“Richard walked into the room and just punched him in the stomach, and he flew about six feet across the room,” she said. “Richard walked over to where the boy landed, picked him up and continued to slug him until he lay bleeding and (unconscious) on the floor.”
She took her son to the bathtub and started to call 911.
“Richard said he would tell them I did it and force the other kids to say Mom did it,” she said.
Deputy District Attorney Kathleen DiDonato asked Monita Swank why she didn’t do more to help her son.
“I chose not to help at that time,” she replied in a tearful and broken voice.
Through constant tears, her trembling voice at times a crescendo of anger and guilt, the mother told of the long years of abuse her son suffered from the father that she didn’t stop.
To read the full story, see Thursday's edition of the Daily Press. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call 760-241-7755 or click here.
Patrick Thatcher may be reached at 951-6227 or at pthatcher@VVDailyPress.com.
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10. Richard Jay Swank
Richard Jay Swank was booked in Unsorted, CA
Mugshots.com : 52667504
Name : SWANK, RICHARD JAY
Age : 51
Address : [REDACTED], Corcoran, CA 93212
CDCR # : AB5474
Admission Date : 11/24/2009
Current Location : SATF-CSP -
11. People v. Swank, E049650, Super.Ct.No. FVI901170 (Cal. App. Feb 23, 2011)
The People v. Swank
Document
Cited authorities (31)
Cited in
Precedent Map
Related
Court California Court of Appeals
Writing for the Court MILLER, J.
Decision Date 23 February 2011
Docket Number Super.Ct.No. FVI901170,E049650
Citation People v. Swank, E049650, Super.Ct.No. FVI901170 (Cal. App. Feb 23, 2011)
Parties THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. RICHARD JAY SWANK, Defendant and Appellant.THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.RICHARD JAY SWANK, Defendant and Appellant.
E049650
Super.Ct.No. FVI901170
COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION TWO.
Filed: February 23, 2011
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Eric M. Nakata, Judge. Affirmed.
Amy L. Butters; Eric M. Weaver, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Steve Oetting and Robin Derman, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
OPINIONA jury convicted defendant Richard Jay Swank of continuous sexual abuse of a child (count 1—Pen. Code § 288.5, subd. (a)), 1 torture (count 2—§ 206), two counts of forcible sexual penetration by a foreign object (counts 3, 4—§ 289, subd. (a)(1)), four counts of forcible oral copulation (counts 5, 7, 9, 11—§ 288a, subd. (c)(2)) and four counts of sodomy by force (counts 6, 8, 10, 12—§ 286, subd. (c)(2)). The court sentenced defendant to state prison for life plus 96 years. On appeal defendant raises six contentions: (1) the trial court erred in permitting the testimony of expert witness Jody Ward despite the People's statutorily untimely disclosure of the witness; (2) the court committed several acts of judicial misconduct during trial; (3) the People committed several acts of prosecutorial misconduct; (4) defense counsel below provided constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC); (5) insufficient evidence supported the jury's conviction for torture on count 2; and (6) the aforementioned alleged errors resulted in prejudicial cumulative error. We affirm the judgment.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORYThe victim was born ill, weighing only four pounds, the equivalent of an eight-week premature baby. He was hospitalized for eight weeks. The victim's mother testified that due to this, defendant (the victim's father), treated the victim as if he were not his child; defendant would say that the victim had been switched at birth and he treated the victim as if he were not a member of the family.
Defendant referred to the victim as an "abomination." The victim was treated as if he "didn't exist." In a family with 16 children, none of the other children were allowed to play or interact with the victim upon pain of punishment. The victim's mother testified that she did not interact with the victim unless defendant was not around. The victim was not permitted to watch television, go to the movies, or play outside. The victim was never permitted in family photographs; his image was removed in one picture in which he once appeared. The victim's birthday was never celebrated. At Christmas, everyone except the victim received gifts. For a number of years, defendant forced the victim to put on a dress and made everyone call him "Michelle." The victim was treated "[v]ery differently. Very poorly. Just differently from the others."
Defendant once discovered a journal that one of the victim's siblings had written, in which she wrote that no child deserved to be treated the way the victim was treated. The author was beaten with a belt and thrown into a shower stall, naked, with the victim. She was told that if she cared so much for him she should be his lover; defendant called her the victim's "fuck buddy." For a week, the two were forced to stand in a corner together and hold hands. She was also forced to eat scraps with the victim.
Defendant compelled the victim to stand in a corner all day, every day of his entire life while residing in the home. Defendant forbade the victim from eating with the rest of the family; the victim was only allowed to eat the remaining scraps, if any, from his siblings' meals. He was only permitted to eat with his hands. The victim once went four days without eating. He would often resort to eating dog food, digging in the trash for food, and once drinking his own urine because he was so dehydrated.
The victim, along with the other children, was constantly threatened with placement in foster care, which defendant alleged would be worse than their current situation, if they revealed any of the family's "secrets" to outsiders. Defendant coached and drilled the children on how to respond to inquiries from outsiders. The children complied with defendant's orders because they feared him. The children were led to believe that every family was like theirs.
Child Protective Services was often called to the home. After one such visit, defendant held a knife to the victim's throat and threatened to kill him if he ever informed. After another visit, defendant held a gun to the victim's head and similarly threatened him.
Some of the children initially attended public school; however, they were removed when defendant became "embarrassed" that teachers and administrators conveyed concern when they noticed that the victim would frequently dig through the trash or beg to obtain food. The children were subsequently "homeschooled," which consisted of infrequent and inconsequential instruction by defendant. When the family had visitors, the victim was hidden in a back room to conceal his malnourishment and injuries.
Defendant forced the victim to sleep handcuffed in a bathtub or shower stall from when the victim was three or five years old. The victim later slept in a locked, enclosed storage area under the coffee table. At one point the victim was left in the coffee table for two or three days until an offensive smell emanated from therein; the victim had soiled himself. The other children were informed that the victim would rape and molesteveryone at night unless he was locked up. Later the victim slept on the garage floor handcuffed to the frame of a bed.
The victim's mother and father both beat him; however, defendant beat him "constantly," "mostly every day." Defendant used his fists, belts, a souvenir baseball bat, a dowel, a Maglite flashlight, a rubber mallet, books, and handcuffs in administering the beatings. The victim was sometimes restrained with handcuffs during the beatings. Defendant principally beat the victim on the head so that any marks would not be visible through the victim's hair. Nevertheless, the victim had visible injuries all of the time. Defendant beat the victim to unconsciousness on more than one occasion.
The other children were also beaten, but not to the degree and frequency with which the victim was beaten. Defendant often used his children as target practice with a BB gun as they ran around the backyard.
On one occasion, when the victim was four years old, defendant punched him for looking at one of his younger siblings. The punch rendered him limp and blood came out of his mouth. Defendant and the victim's mother placed him in the bathtub for the next couple of days. They refused to obtain medical help for him because defendant believed the abuse would be obvious.
On another occasion, defendant engaged in a lengthy beating of the victim, during which he punched the victim until he fell to the ground, stepped on his crotch, continued beating him while he was down, picked him up by the throat and pinned him up against the wall. Defendant informed the victim that he was not worthy to bleed on defendant's carpet. Defendant once tapped the victim's testicles repeatedly with a heavy-dutyscrewdriver. The victim testified that the resulting "pain was so intense that I couldn't walk for two days."
On yet other occasions, defendant would attach vice grips to the victim's penis, nipples, and testicles to coerce "confessions." The victim's older brother testified that after applying the vice grips to the victim's penis on one occasion, the victim "fell to the ground in complete agony and was screaming." The other children would hear the victim scream for long periods of time during these interrogations; they would sing songs in an effort to cover up the sound of the screams. The victim's older sister still had nightmares about the screams; she once witnessed defendant apply the vice grips to the victim's penis. She also witnessed defendant directing another sibling to retrieve the vice grips for him. That sibling testified that defendant had asked him to retrieve the vice grips. Defendant once told the victim's older sister, "'[t]hat boy will say anything with vice grips on his dick.'"
Defendant frequently compelled the victim to engage in boxing matches with him. During one of these matches, defendant broke the victim's nose; from that time on, the victim was unable to breathe through his right nostril. The victim received no medical attention. A forensic pathologist testified that the injury was consistent with blunt force trauma such as being punched on the nose. The pathologist also noted eight healed skull injuries with scarring consistent with untreated intentional blunt force trauma to the back of the head.
On one occasion, defendant grabbed the victim by the scrotum, lifted him in the air, and moved him 10 feet to another location. Another occasion defendant clamped hishand around the victim's throat until he passed out. Yet another time, defendant poked the victim's foot with a knife.
At one point, defendant informed the victim's older sister that the victim had molested their youngest sibling; defendant gave her a gun and told her to make sure it never happened again. Defendant then ensured that everyone except the victim and his older sister left the home. She testified that she believed defendant wanted her to kill the victim. With gun in hand, the older sister threatened the victim that if he ever touched the baby again she would kill him. The victim...
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