Jessica Crank died in August at the age of 15 from Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. She had a tumor the size of a basketball on her shoulder, but her mother did not seek meaningful medical care, despite repeated advice to do so by professionals.
Instead, Jessica’s mother Jacqueline Crank apparently preferred the advice of her spiritual mentor “Ariel Ben Sherman,” a man previously charged on five counts of child abuse.
Sherman and Crank subsequently faced felony child abuse charges for the girl’s death.
Commenting in court the District Attorney said, “The failure to seek medical care early on did, in fact, advance the sarcoma to the point where Jessica, after much pain and suffering, died,” reported Knoxville’s News-Sentinel.
However, Sherman seems to have escaped justice a second time. A judge in Tennessee ruled that the girl’s agonizing death only merited a “misdemeanor,” reports The News-Sentinel.
The maximum sentences the mother or Sherman now face is less than a year in jail. Based upon the judge’s reaction to the case, perhaps they may only receive probation.
It is outrageous that a child’s life has been valued so cheaply. But according to Tennessee’s Child Abuse and Neglect statute, parents who only pray for their children rather than seek medical care cannot be prosecuted.
Ironically, if Jacqueline Crank had never sought any medical advice it is likely that all the charges against her would have been dismissed.
This case is proof that in Tennessee a parent’s supposed “religious rights” supercede the health and welfare of a child.
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