According to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, three young children endured prolonged and horrific child abuse from a couple in Magna.
A couple has been charged with multiple counts of alleged child abuse, following an investigation into their activities that have been ongoing since 2020.
Several disturbing incidents occurred, such as forcibly pulling a child’s hair, inflicting severe enough blows to make one boy lose consciousness, and even brandishing a firearm and threatening to shoot another child.
Based on the arrest documents, the Unified Police Department was called to the Magna home on August 21 in response to a report of alleged physical abuse towards Sorensen’s 6-year-old son by North. The responding officer observed visible injuries on the child, including red marks on the neck, scratches on the body, and severe bruising with open wounds.
On that day, Sorensen’s three children were taken to the hospital.
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Sorensen later informed a detective that North had expressed frustration towards her son’s use of the door handle to exit their truck upon returning home from an appointment. North instructed the 6-year-old to assume a pushup position and engaged him in physical exercises. According to authorities, the child was kicked twice by North after failing to properly execute the pushups.
The boy faced consequences whenever he failed to respond to North’s questions respectfully or provided answers that didn’t meet North’s standards, resulting in repeated open-handed slaps. As tensions escalated, North reportedly became increasingly upset and resorted to physically assaulting the child.
Witnesses observed North grabbing the child’s shirt and repeatedly slapping him. The situation took a more dangerous turn when North used both hands to forcefully grip the boy’s neck, applying pressure with his thumbs in a choking motion, according to the report.
Sorensen alleged that the day prior to the incident, North had struck her 9-year-old child on multiple occasions. In June, it was alleged that North had used physical force against a 6-year-old, resulting in the child falling back and hitting their head on a chair, leading to loss of consciousness.
After losing consciousness, Sorensen became concerned about her son’s condition. She noticed that he was having difficulty speaking clearly, was unable to stand up on his own, and had dilated pupils.
Despite observing those symptoms, Sorensen chose not to seek medical attention for her child.
During another incident of alleged abuse, North reportedly assaulted the 8-year-old child, resulting in black eyes and pulling out their hair, causing bald spots.
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An 8-year-old child recounted a disturbing incident where someone approached them in the middle of the night, brandishing a firearm and threatening harm.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill revealed that Sorensen failed to report the suspected child abuse that occurred over several years.
During questioning, North revealed his unconventional approach to guiding children, stating that he enjoys demonstrating to them where they should be and what they should be doing by grabbing them on the back of their neck. He also admitted to occasionally grabbing them by the front of the neck, suggesting that as long as they breathe through their nose, there would be no harm done.
Following the arrest of the parents, it has been reported that a 13-year-old Kearns boy was subjected to being locked in a makeshift cell for extended periods of time.
According to Thorpe, there has been a surge in cases of violent child abuse lately, with some instances being attributed to parents in need of assistance.
The Utah Department of Child and Family Services offers a range of resources aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. These incidents can have long-lasting effects on a child’s life. In the Magna case, it is heartbreaking to think that the children may have witnessed their siblings being harmed without being able to do anything to help.