Remember James Moss — the guy who burned his son, beat the crap out of him, shoved him in the oven, then humiliated him by forcing him to sit outside “like a dog?”
Well, he’s one lucky mofo, because thanks to his son’s forgiving heart, he will only spend weekends in jail for the next few months, in place of the maximum sentence for his crime: 7 years.
A demonic dad who burned and beat his son and stuffed him in an oven dodged a long prison sentence Friday after the forgiving boy made a tear-filled plea for leniency.
“He made a big mistake, but really somewhere in his heart he (is) funny, lovable, caring and a great father,” said Christopher Moss, 11, choking up as he spoke inside a Staten Island courtroom.
“Everybody in my family … is giving him a second chance,” the boy asked the judge in a soft voice. “Will you?”
Staten Island Judge Robert Collini then did his part, sparing the 6-foot-2, 270-pound James Moss from a seven-year prison sentence. He gave Moss just four months of weekends in jail and five years probation in the heinous May 2010 attack.
“My son is a better man than me,” said Moss, 53, who pleaded guilty to attacking Christopher over a $20 bill missing from his wallet. “I’m very sorry for what I did.”
Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan, who called the attack one of the most “shocking and sadistic” he’s seen in his career, argued for a harsher penalty.
“We made what we believed was a very persuasive sentence recommendation to the court that significant jail time was appropriate, considering the harm that was inflicted upon this child,” Donovan said.
“Ultimately, sentencing is in the purview of the court and the judge in this case imposed a sentence which he believed was right.”
Prosecutors said Moss threatened to kill his son during the rampage at their Graniteville, S.I., home. He ripped the pre-teen’s clothes off, beat him with a spatula and burned both his hands on a hot stove.
With the skin peeling from Christopher’s hands, his father then punched the naked kid in the face and forced the screaming boy into the oven.
“I’m going to burn you alive!” he howled, according to law enforcement sources.
Moss eventually relented and let Christopher out of the oven – only to throw the nude child with the burned hands into the front yard.
When he let the injured boy inside, Christopher was ordered to sit on the floor “like a dog,” court documents show.
But the boy cuddled with his father inside the courtroom before taking the witness stand to plead for his dad’s release.
“Dear judge, I will fight so hard (for) my dad to live with me,” the little boy began.
After breaking into tears halfway through, Christopher finished his statement with a direct appeal to the judge.
“God will solve everything if you make the right choice,” the boy said. “And I forgive my dad a lot.”
The lenient sentence won’t permanently reunite the father and son. James Moss was barred from living with Christopher for at least one year and can now only see the boy at supervised visits.
[NYDN]
That kid needs to be mentally evaluated for his decision. Because if that were us? Oh boy … daddy would be put UNDER the jail for quite some time for what he did!
