James Moss, 53, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday by Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Collini. James Moss, 53, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday by Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Collini — roughly three months after he pleaded guilty to all seven counts of the indictment against him, including two counts of second-degree assault, a felony that carries a possible seven-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors are asking for the maximum sentence allowed by law.
The young boy is expected to speak on his father’s behalf, though, and a law enforcement source says prosecutors worry that without a plea deal in place, the judge may grant leniency, either in the form of probation or weekend-only jail time.
"In over 15 years as a district attorney and an assistant district attorney, this was one of the most shocking and sadistic cases of child abuse I have ever prosecuted," said District Attorney Daniel Donovan in a statement today announcing the guilty plea.
Moss last year beat his son, Christopher, who was then 9 years old, with a plastic spatula, then put his hands over two oven burners before shoving him into an oven and trapping him inside for several minutes — all because he thought the boy stole $20 from his wallet.
Christopher had second- and third-degree burns on his hands, spatula marks on his back and scrapes on his knees, and needed to be placed on a morphine drip, prosecutors said.
Moss’ lawyer, Mark Fonte, challenged the timing of Donovan’s statement, and called the ethics of the press release "questionable."
"I am deeply troubled by the news that your office has issued a press release regarding the pending sentence of James Moss. This is clearly an effort to affect the outcome of the proceedings and to taint the well on the issue of sentence," Fonte wrote in a fax sent to Nina Spadafora, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case.
"There is no other reason for your office to issue a press release on a year-old case two days prior to sentence other than to influence the proceedings. The ethics of this conduct are questionable. Rather than making your arguments in the courtroom, as professional prosecutors would do, your Office has decided to engage in questionable conduct."
According to the prosecution’s sentencing recommendation, which was attached to Donovan’s statement, Moss believed his son took $20 from his wallet, so on May 12, 2010, he "decided to teach Christopher a lesson."
The 6-foot, 2-inch, 270-pound Moss threatened to kill the boy, then took him to the basement, stripped him naked, and ordered him back up to the kitchen and beat him in the back with a plastic spatula, Ms. Spadafora wrote in the four-page recommendation.
He turned on two oven burners, waited for them to heat up, then turned them off and held Christopher’s hands over them. He punched the boy in the face, and shoved him, still naked, in the oven.
"Christopher, burned, beaten and naked attempted to push his way out of the oven but the defendant held the door shut," Ms. Spadafora wrote.
"The defendant yelled at Christopher demanding to know where the twenty dollars was and threatening to turn the (oven) on and burn Christopher again."
He let the boy climb out several minutes later, but locked him out of the house "leaving Christopher stranded and naked, outside the house at approximately 9:00 at night," Ms. Spadafora wrote.
The boy’s sister finally convinced Moss to let him back in, but Moss told him to sit naked on the floor "like a dog" until his mother came home to put clothes on him and bring him to a hospital.
"Christopher being a young child is probably forgiving of his father and missing his family unit. Christopher does not like to talk about the night of May 12, 2010 or the crimes the defendant perpetrated against him, however it is clear that the events of that night and the defendant’s actions towards Christopher will stay with Christopher for the rest of his life." she wrote.
Fonte told the Advance today that both Moss’ son and the boy’s mother are expected to speak on his client’s behalf. He wouldn’t comment on what kind of sentence he hopes for, though he said the "ultimate goal" would be re-uniting the family.
Moss is currently living in Brooklyn, with family, while the boy is staying with his mother on Staten Island. Under the terms of a judge’s protective order, he can visit the boy at the mother’s discretion.
"He clearly has taken full responsibility for his actions," Fonte said. "It’s not that he was successfully prosecuted, it’s that he stepped up to the plate and took responsibility for his actions
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