Father who thought a third child would “make him look like a jerk” and attempted to kill his unborn child on seven separate occasions by putting pills in his wife’s beverage, causing the child to be born 10 weeks earlier, was sentenced to only 180 days in prison
A 39-year-old man, later identified as Mason, pleaded guilty to one count of assault on a pregnant person and one count of injury to a child under the age of 15. He was given a short jail sentence followed by a long probationary period, according to court records. Mason was accused of giving his wife, Catherine, drugs that are used to terminate pregnancies without her knowledge or permission.
Mason’s actions were discovered when his wife went to the emergency room with serious symptoms that were similar to those of an attempted drug-induced aboгtion. The couple had been separated and were going to therapy for couples when they got the news of an unexpected third pregnancy. Mason reportedly didn’t like the news and told his wife that the pregnancy “would ruin his plans and make him look like a jerk.”
According to court records, Mason began his attempts to end the pregnancy. He told his wife that she should drink more water and then gave her drinks that looked cloudy and contained substances she wasn’t aware of. Catherine became suspicious when she got very sick and started bleeding soon after drinking these drinks. Mason is said to have given her another drink the next day, but she didn’t drink it; instead, she saved the liquid. Misoprostol, a drug known for being used in medical aboгtions, was found to have been slipped into Catherine’s drinks more than once, according to investigations. Opened blister packs of the drug found in the trash and camera footage of Mason making a drink with the substance were later used as evidence that he attempted to terminate his wife’s pregnancy in the court proceedings.
During the sentencing process, Catherine talked about how her husband’s actions had a traumatic effect on her, focusing on the fact that their daughter was born 10 weeks earlier than the due date and had to deal with a lot of health problems as a result. She also talked about how she and her children have been emotionally and financially abandoned since the event. Mason was given a sentence of 180 days in jail and 10 years of probation. Catherine has said that this term is too light for the seriousness of the crime that was committed against her and their unborn child. “I do not believe that 180 days is justice for attempting to kill your child seven separate times. For two years, my husband has overly denied this assault, and I’m grateful today that he has finally admitted to his guilt,” she told the court.
