"Del. doctor sentenced in water boarding" by Randall Chase | Associated Press April 12, 2014
GEORGETOWN, Del. — A judge sentenced a former pediatrician known for research on paranormal science to three years in prison Friday for waterboarding the daughter of his longtime companion by holding the girl’s head under a faucet.
The judge ordered Melvin Morse, 60, to serve two years on probation after completing the prison term. Morse also received concurrent sentences of probation for other charges of endangerment and assault.
Judge Richard Stokes rejected a request for leniency from defense attorney Joe Hurley, who said Morse has prostate cancer and likely will need thyroid surgery.
Before being sentenced, Morse, turned to the girl, now 12, and apologized. ‘‘I am so sorry. I am so sorry,’’ he said as she clutched at her foster mother. ‘‘None of this is your fault . . . and I hope that one day you can forgive me.’’
The girl and her mother testified that Morse used waterboarding as a threat or punishment, but defense attorneys suggested ‘‘waterboarding’’ was a term jokingly used by Morse to describe hair washing. Waterboarding, as used by trained interrogators on terrorism suspects, simulates drowning.
They actually train you to commit war crimes?
Morse, whose medical license was suspended and has since expired, wrote several books and articles on paranormal science and near-death experiences involving children. He has appeared on shows like ‘‘Larry King Live’’ to discuss his research. Morse denied police claims he may have been experimenting on the girl.
The girl fled to a classmate’s house in July 2012, the morning after Morse grabbed her by an ankle and dragged her across a driveway into the family home, where she was spanked and warned of worse punishment. When investigators questioned her, she told them about what she called water boarding.
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Related: Delaware Doctor Gets Dunked
