Pennsylvania father pleads guilty to charges of torture and starvation death of his 12-year-old son

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Almost two years after he was charged with criminal homicide, a Pennsylvania father has pleaded guilty to his role in torturing and starving his 12-year-old son.

Scott Schollenberger Jr, 43, on Thursday pleaded guilty before Judge Bradford Charles and was sentenced to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

He was also booked under charges of endangering the welfare of children, and criminal conspiracy to endanger the welfare of children, months after his son was found dead in his room. While the homicide charge led to a life sentence, other convictions resulted in a prison sentence of a minimum of 25 years.

His plea came a month before the case was due to go on trial.

The case dates back to 26 May 2020, when Annville Township police and members of the County Detective Bureau found the body of his son, Maxwell in his second-floor room with his bed and body “wholly covered in faecal matter”.

The authorities also noted that the door and its frame “contained three metal hooks… to lock the child in his bedroom,” reported Lebanon Daily News.

His room did not had any light and furniture, aside from the bed wherein he died, according to the Lebanon County District Attorney’s office. The shades were closed with duct tape, and the child was also, therefore, unable to see outside.

The coroner concluded that the child, who weighed about 47.5 pounds, died from dehydration, malnutrition and head trauma, reported Penn Live.

In September, the authorities booked Schollenberger and his fiancee Kimberly Maurer, 36, with homicide charges. She is currently in prison and is due to stand trial next month.

Meanwhile, the boy’s mother Sara Coon filed a lawsuit against the couple and Children and Youth Services for what she considers failure by the service to probe her repeated complaints of child abuse by her ex-husband who had the custody of her son.

The 12-year-old also did not receive medical care in 10 years, not was enrolled in any school, was rarely seen by  three other siblings that the couple had together, according to the district attorney.

The other children “appeared to be healthy, well-adjusted and cared for,” the investigators said, adding that they received regular medical care and attended school.