Local News in Brief : Judge Rejects Plea by Ecclesia Parents
Oregon officials have denied a request by parents from the Ecclesia Athletic Assn. that they be allowed to care briefly for their children, who are in state custody because of alleged ritualistic beatings.
Bart Wilson of the Oregon Children’s Services Division said the state rejected a proposal from parents in the religious athletic group to supervise some of the children for 24 hours. “We’re not going to give up our responsibility for the care of the children,” he said.
The state took custody of 53 Ecclesia children after the Oct. 14 death of 8-year-old Dayna Lorea Broussard, daughter of the group’s founder, Eldridge Broussard Jr., who ran the Watts Christian Center. Four adult members of Ecclesia have been charged with manslaughter in the beating death of the girl.
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