Mariners Harbor mom, who beat her son to death, gets 20 years in jail

Staten Island Advance/Michael OatesMelissa Sekulski pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island mother was sentenced to 20 years in jail today, three weeks after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter for beating her son Jaquan Porter to death in December 2008.

Melissa Sekulski, 31, of Mariners Harbor also will serve 5 years of post-release supervision. She was sentenced by Justice Robert J. Collini.
Police made the arrest after the city medical examiner's office ruled that the boy, who was 10 years old, died from blunt trauma to his head.

Assistant District Attorney Raja Rajeswari, who prosecuted the case, read a statement from the father, Charles Porter.
"There are so many emotions I go through every day," he wrote. "Dec. 26, 2008 was the worst day of my life. He [Jaquan] was truly an angel. My wish from my heart for all of us, including you, Melissa, is that God will grant us peace and he will grant peace to Jaquan that he was never afforded."
In a long victim impact statement, Porter also wrote: "Love doesn't seek revenge, it seeks healing. Love is that candle that can't be extinguished by all the darkness and hate in this world."
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Read Charles Porter's full victim impact statement

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Ms. Rajeswari said that Ms. Sekulski "isolated Jaquan from his family. She is the one person in the world who should have protected him from harm."
Ms. Sekulski broke down when asked if she wanted to address the court, but managed to choke out "I'm very sorry."
Her attorney, public defender Joseph Licitra, told the judge his client "is extremely remorseful and has serious psychological illness enough to mitigate certain circumstances." He did not elaborate and did not comment to an Advance reporter after the sentencing.
“This plea, to the top count of the indictment, was accepted after consultation with the family of the victim and in recognition of their desire to avoid a trial where they would publicly relive the ordeal that this young boy went through," said William J. Smith, spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.
"Although this charge carries a penalty of between 5 and 25 years, we insisted that due to the heinousness of the crime, a guarantee of 20 years in prison was appropriate.”