A Dallas woman who admitted to lying about her 10-year old son being ill majority of his life has been sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Kaylene Bowen-Wright, 36, previously pleaded guilty to injury to a child causing serious bodily injury after confessing to subjecting the child, Christopher Bowen, to multiple unneeded surgeries throughout his life.
She was arrested in late 2017 after medical professionals noticed signs of medical child abuse and made a complaint to Child Protective Services.
The young boy’s father, Ryan Crawford, made complaints as well.
Officials removed the mother’s three children from her home, including Christopher.
Christopher underwent 13 major surgeries and had 323 visits to the doctor during the course of the abuse, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Dallas News reports:
The doctor visits began when Christopher was an infant, his father testified in front of Judge Ernest White on Friday. At first, Bowen-Wright said Christopher — who was born prematurely — had an issue drinking milk. The alleged illnesses evolved into more serious conditions over time as the mother isolated Crawford from his son, the father said.
“[She would] just always say that something’s wrong with Christopher all the time,” Crawford testified. “It was just one thing after another.”
Prosecutors showed multiple Facebook messages from Bowen-Wright in which she claimed Christopher had cancer or wasn’t expected to live past the age of 4 or 5. She claimed on multiple occasions that doctors said her son had only a few months to live, prosecutors said.
The mother even started multiple GoFundMe campaigns for her son, and had trips sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He lived with a feeding tube for the majority of his life, and spent portions of his life in a wheelchair.
He was a healthy child the entire time.
Attorneys suggested Bowen-Wright suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a disorder in which a caretaker creates and exaggerates fake illnesses for a person in their care. It usually affects a mother and leads to the abuse of a child, Dr. Catherine Ayoub, a medical expert, testified Friday.
Heath Hyde, Bowen-Wright’s attorney, asked the judge to sentence his client to probation, arguing that therapy is the preferred solution over jail time.
Prosecutors, however, argued that therapy alone isn’t a viable remedy. Lead prosecutor Jennifer Sawyer asked Judge White to sentence Bowen-Wright to at least eight years in prison — the length of time she subjected her son to the unnecessary surgeries
“She stole Christopher’s childhood,” Sawyer said in closing arguments. “Not only for Christopher, but from his father.”
Sawyer said the mother’s abuse extended far beyond just Christopher. The fake illnesses also harmed Christopher’s siblings, who were led to believe their brother was dying. The abuse also reached the child’s friends and support network, Sawyer said.
“It’s hard to even say where her victims stop,” Sawyer said.
Crawford, Christopher’s father, was emotional after the judge’s decision. Tears formed in his eyes as he realized he no longer had to prove his son was being victimized. His son finally had justice, he said.
“I’m glad there was a judge that was able to stand up for Christopher,” Crawford said.
For years, Ryan Crawford tried to convince judges that his son Christopher was healthy, despite the child’s mother’s claims that he was ill. On Friday, Crawford was finally vindicated and Christopher is finally home with him.
What do y’all think? Was this sentence appropriated for the crime, although the defense claims Bowen-Wright suffered from Munchausen syndrome? Should she have gotten more time? Leave us a comment below.
