No insanity defense for Breeder who left baby alone for 8 days

Child Abuse

No insanity defense for Breeder who left baby alone for 8 days

Trench Reynolds

March 29, 2009

1–2 minutes

Benjamin Sargent, child-neglect, illinois, James Sargent, Killing, Neglect, Peoria, Starvation, Tracy Hermann

Mental health defense denied for Sargent:

You can read my original posts on James Sargent and Tracy Hermann here.

They were the pair of Breeders who left their 5-month-old baby son, Benjamin Sargent, alone in his car seat in his crib for 8 days without feeding him or changing him or checking on him. According to a witness they were busy “playing video games, watching TV, feeding and caring for themselves.”

Benjamin Sargent was found in the same clothes he was dropped off at the house it with his eyes open and his fists clenched. Both Breeders have been charged with murder.

More recently an insanity defense for Sargent has been rejected. Sargent’s attorney contended that Sargent has a “dissociative disorder.” According to the good doctor Sargent retreats into the fantasy world of Lord of The Rings.

However, the shrink that saw Sargent said that was only part of what led Sargent to ignore his own child.

The doctor testified the dissociation could explain some of what happened when the infant died after going without food or water for eight days in mid-February 2008, noting a baby’s cries are difficult to ignore.

“Either he (Sargent) is either deaf and blind or an utter psychopath. There’s no evidence of either,” Killian said.

So on that basis, the judge thankfully rejected that defense.

Sargent is looking at 20 to 100 years behind bars and his trial is set for April 27th.

Hermann’s trial is set for May 4th.

Last I heard they were both blaming each other.

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31 responses to “No insanity defense for Breeder who left baby alone for 8 days”

SithSnoopy

March 29, 2009 at 4:38 am

This is going to sound like it’s coming from SFDude, but I want to put adult diapers on them, strap them down and chain them into recliners and ignore them for 8 days.

In separate, sound-proofed rooms.

With nothing to entertain them as they dehydrate.

Yikes. Ok, ok, must try to let go of the un-Christian thoughts. 😛

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vegasgirl

March 29, 2009 at 2:00 pm

@SithSnoopy

This will sound like you &amp SFDude (who I love btw) Let’s do all that, but put them in adult snowsuits first, then turn the heat on. We need to replicate the circumtances of that precious baby’s murder as best we can so the punishment is fitting.

Or just bring back public floggings. Cheaper, simpler, and very painful &amp humiliating. Sorry, my thoughts here are not very Christian this morning either 😛

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Brenda

March 29, 2009 at 3:50 pm

I love both your ideas! Wish we could actually do it too.

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Jamie

March 29, 2009 at 4:35 pm

I can’t believe anyone would ignore their child especially an infant over a video game, 😦 even though I really enjoy online role playing games and other forms of video games. I would drop everything to attend to my sons needs even if it meant leaving in a middle of a raid while playing world of warcraft. It’s such a sad story…I would of given anything to take that poor defenseless child away from asshole breeders like that. 😦

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jen

March 29, 2009 at 6:50 pm

Although a lot of people don’t think that video games can be an powerful addiction, they can be. That said, there is a lot more here going on than just playing video games. There’s no way these people played video games 24/7 for 8 days unless they were on coke or meth or something. Since it doesn’t mention drugs involved, either that wasn’t released yet to the public or these people are just seriously sick fucks. They didn’t need a bathroom break and walk by the crib even?? They ignored this child on purpose.

It took two of them to ignore this baby’s cries for days. That’s so incomprehensible to me. I know it’s been said before but how do these psychos find each other??? Is there some kind of babyabusermatch.com that we don’t know about??? WTF?? I am also interested to know who exactly dropped the baby off?? It doesn’t mention that in the story. It sounds like a grandma had him. Didn’t anyone notice signs of neglect beforehand?

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Don

March 29, 2009 at 8:15 pm

I’m in favor of re-instituting public floggings. Also the stocks, and public executions.

Hell, they should be televised.

I also think we should impose the death penalty for certain crimes that aren’t murder – child molestation for instance. The recidivism rate is unreal, why do we ever let them out again?

These bastards should hang from neck until dead, in public and on television.

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Natashja

March 30, 2009 at 2:01 am

This is probably one of the worst stories I have read on this site. I got cold all over. That poor child must have suffered something terrible. It would have been better for that baby to have been strangled or shot than this long tormentful death. These people need to hang – I hope they burn in hell for all eternity. Fucken sickos.

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sfdude_2008

March 30, 2009 at 2:14 am

I’m actually interested to see those fat scums’ mugshots (sarcasm!). Tracy Hermann is a truly fat ugly bloated bitch. These sick fucks must’ve actually hated their son. There’s no excuse in ignoring babies and starving them to death, not to mention play video games and eat and care for yourselves while your baby just starves to death. I’m sorry that this poor baby had shit for parents and I wish I was his mommy. As for James Sargent, oh gee, I wish I could wipe that smirk off of his ugly face. R.I.P. Little Benny, may God and the angels take care of you. You truly deserved much better than your vile fat so-called parents.

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sfdude_2008

March 30, 2009 at 2:27 am

SithSnoopy and vegasgirl, I think that the “snowsuit” punishment is a good idea. LOL and I agree with your flogging ideas too…I must say that I love all your ideas and I wish I could do it as well.

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DogBitez

March 30, 2009 at 2:54 am

If you want to see a photo of 5 month old Benjamin…

What a precious sweetheart he was.

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Natashja

March 30, 2009 at 5:28 am

God, I wish I did not see the photo. Makes everything so real. What a beautiful child. Thank God he is in heaven now where he is safe and happy.

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vegasgirl

March 30, 2009 at 1:02 pm

@SFD, Thank you. My boyfriend is a cop and he’s said I can bloodthirsty when it comes to abused/murdered/molested kids.

He’s right.

That said, I really wish I hadn’t looked at that picture. What a beautiful child. Who could ignore their child’s cries for 8 long days? Many abusers KILL their kids for crying for a few hours. So, how did these 2 degenerates manage to ignore their child’s cries for so long? I don’t think it was meth or coke (they make folks a bit testy) I’m thinking heroin or sheer evil.

Public executions would be a great idea. Televise and stream them live on the web. People against the DP say it’s no deterent. I respectfully disagree. Can anyone name one of these slugs on society who got the needle or rode the lightening and came back to hurt another child? Execute the criminal and thereby quickly deter him/her from future acts of violence.

I believe the DP should be imposed for any act of violence against the weak, helpless and defenseless members of society. It is our duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

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vegasgirl

March 30, 2009 at 1:07 pm

**The first sentance of the last paragraph of my previous post should say “certain acts of violence against the weak . . .”

Sorry y’all, this case is making me see red &amp I can’t think straight 😦

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Angel

March 30, 2009 at 6:20 pm

Adult diapers would be way too good for these two. I think they should be lowered naked into an open (and full) septic tank, until they are covered to their necks. The septic tank should be heated up to a constant 120 degrees, so they are toasty warm, as they kept the baby. And since they did provide a bottle within reach of the child (I believe it was down in the side of the carseat, wasn’t it?), they should also have food within reach, but unreachable. Hang a plate of whatever they like best within sight of them, but just an inch farther away than they can reach. That should do it, I think……

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SithSnoopy

March 31, 2009 at 3:58 am

I found the whole description of what the baby endured. It’s off of a link that says “click here” to download/view the word document.

Here’s the web page where you can then click to download the word document:

http://www.peoriacountystatesattorney.org/practice%20develop.sargent-hermann.htm

I’m leaning toward the keeping them stuck in a tank full of sewage.

Oh, God is going to send me to Hell. God, please forgive me: I just want to torture those unmentionable pieces of filth. But for way longer than 8 days.

Gotta go hug my baby. 😦

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Raymond Lee

March 31, 2009 at 12:13 pm

Sounds like a made up story to me cant find the story in Ill.. sounds like pbb BS to me

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Angel

March 31, 2009 at 12:30 pm

Mr. Lee, perhaps you should take some remedial computer courses, and learn how to conduct research on the internet. Or maybe you should just go away and not come back here. If you are so convinced that this site is BS, then why keep showing up here? You are only adding insult to the injuries sustained by the children.

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MOTHER

March 31, 2009 at 1:03 pm

To every one in the first few comments (sithsnoopy, brenda, vegasgirl) I totally would join in. But that would make us just as bad of people as them. And I don’t think that deep down you are like them, and I am not either. Thats what makes us BETTER than them. Better parents, better people. I just hope with every fiber of my being that those MORONS really get to know what prison is like.

I am a mother. I am 21 years old. I can just imagine the way it would rip me apart if I left my child in a carseat screaming like that for even a few hours let alone 8 days. I hope in prison, at night, they are haunted by the sound of that baby screaming.

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Melanie

March 31, 2009 at 1:03 pm

This story makes me sick. Is it bad that I wish that these disgusting excuses made the choice to abort and then be sterilized?

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velvet_khat

March 31, 2009 at 2:24 pm

While I admit that it would be wonderful to sentence these two to a death equal to the one experienced by their poor baby–or something even worse, which they completely deserve–my hope is that they are released into the general populations of the meanest prisons in the nation. Child killers and molesters are the lowest of the low in the prison hiearchy and regularly experience beatings, rapes, and often murder at the hands of other prisoners.

I wish the story of how these two ignored their precious child as he starved to death would be circulated thruout the prison a day or so before they reached the facility I’m sure many of these men and especially women that are seperated from their own children would have a heck of a welcome waiting for them.

Unless Sargent knows of an unknown chapter in “Lord of the Rings” where a character is repeatedly beaten and sodomized, I think he’s going to have a pretty difficult time retreating into his beloved fantasy world.

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Samantha

March 31, 2009 at 2:39 pm

Oh my… I just visited the link posted and read the facts in this case and it is just beyond horrible! I dont understand how anyone could do such a thing. They are sick sick sick individuals!

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vegasgirl

March 31, 2009 at 4:07 pm

@Mother,

God bless your kind &amp open heart. I don’t have one anymore. I am a 42 yr old mother of 2 grown children (living). I had 2 others. They were taken from me by an murderer. Forgive me for no longer having a kind and giving heart. Wait, I do still have a giving heart. But the “gifts” I want to give these abusers are not wrapped in pretty paper and adorned by big red bows. No miss, I am no better than any of the murderous ******** on this site who kill their children. If I could get my hands on the man who took my children, I would have no mercy, no pity, I would not heed his cries anymore than he heard the cries of MY CHILDREN.

Someone is likely thinking I invited this upon my family by inviting a boyfriend or lover into my home. Nothing could be further from the truth. I stayed single til my kids were raised.

I’ve said before in my posts, my man is a cop. On a daily basis, I read about “prison justice” “let the inmates get them” yada, yada, yada.

Two words: administrative segregation

There is no more prison justice. The lawyers have taken that away. If a guard fails to protect a prisoner, the guard is disiplined. Forgive my anger, but if you’ve walked in my shoes for over 15 yrs, you would be angry too.

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SithSnoopy

March 31, 2009 at 5:33 pm

Vegasgirl, I am SO sorry for your loss. 😦

I take it the murderer has never been found…

Is there anything we could do to help find him?

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SB

March 31, 2009 at 6:27 pm

I have a 6 &amp a half month old baby…at her first whimper I am into her room to check on her…the longest she ahs cried for without my attention is less than 3 minutes (she woke up while I was in the shower &amp when the 3 minute timer went off I turned off the water &amp heard her &amp raced in to see her)…

Normal people don’t do things like this…not that I am saying they are insane but there is definately something wrong…chronic selfishness perhaps?????

I’ve said it before &amp I’ll say it again…having children should not be considered a right…it is a privilage &amp a huge responsibility &amp baby girls should have their tubes tied at birth…when they can prove that they will be able to care for the baby then they can have the operation reversed.

This dumb cunt &amp her useless waste of skin oxygen thieving BF deserve to have their inards removed with a hacksaw while they are still alive.

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SB

March 31, 2009 at 6:33 pm

Hey Vagasgirl…that sucks…I have never lost a child so I can’t imagine how you feel…just thinking about not having my precious bubba in my life makes me want to cry…it is sad that the bleeding heart ethicists have put a stop to the only form of justice some of these bastards face (prison style). Maybe if the people who whine &amp complain about cruel &amp unusual punishments had someone they love murdered they would change their tune?

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SB

March 31, 2009 at 6:37 pm

This is for Raymond Lee…

Is the reason you hate this site so much because you are expecting to find your own name on here one day? If you were a good parent you would join the chorus of outrage like the rest of us…only bad parents would think it is unfair to publish the details of these horrible things.

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Angel

March 31, 2009 at 9:00 pm

SB:
Mr. Lee has ALREADY been featured on this site. For more details check out the comments on the most recent story about the Md. woman who keeps her kids in the freezer. There is a running dialogue between Ray and a few others.

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vegasgirl

April 2, 2009 at 10:03 pm

Thank you for your kind words. I very rarely speak of my loss. Even after all these years it is too painful

@Mother, please accept my apology for speaking to you in such a rude manner. That was uncalled for on my part and I am truely sorry.

@SithSnoopy, thank you. Rather than face what he had done, he took the coward’s way out &amp committed suicide. I imagine he now resides in the deep south. There is no punishment we could dream up together that’s worse than what the murderous beast is facing now.

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MOTHER

April 3, 2009 at 12:46 am

You can speak to me any way you want, you have a right to from experience. I had a step father who was a child molester who was killed in prison. He got just was he deserved. And I hope with everything that karma uses the hands of those who have already soiled theirs (as opposed to those who are still blessed with their freedom and future) to render these two people shitless.

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Mejane_83

April 23, 2009 at 12:56 pm

I’ve been following this story since I heard of it (Peoria is only about 90 min away from where I live). Although, I’ve not been able to find out what ever happend to their parents. Are they supposed to be tried in 2009? I agree w/ everyone else in the thought that hopefully they’ll get what they deserve in prison. That poor precious baby, I would also have given anything to be able to save him.

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bunniness

November 14, 2010 at 4:02 pm

Benjamin was a beautiful baby that did not deserve all this. I read about him on an online memorial site 😥

I have twin 6-month-old nephews and I cannot imagine how someone can just ignore a baby and leave it to die in such circumstances.

Just imagine what Benjamin went through during his last breaths..

Poor baby. RIP.

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