Inquiry Finds No Abuse at Preschool

No crime was committed by the administrator of a Canyon Country religious preschool who restrained an unruly 4-year-old boy and prayed over him, the district attorney’s office concluded Thursday.

After reviewing the Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigation of a child abuse complaint by the boy’s mother, authorities decided to take no action against Karen Soper, director of Children’s Country Preschool, which is affiliated with the Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

Cathy Uthe had reported to deputies that Soper disciplined her son, Colin, on Jan. 3 by pinning him to the floor of the school and following the directions of a religious book on driving out demons.

Soper denied that she acted improperly and said that she and a school secretary held the boy down during a violent tantrum. She said they prayed over the boy but were not following any religious procedure or ceremony, such as an exorcism.

Authorities said there was no evidence that the boy had been injured or that Soper had intended to hurt him.

“The child was held to the floor by school staff members in an effort to control his physically disruptive, tantrum-like behavior and to prevent him from injuring himself,” Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Linnemeyer said. “During this episode, a school staff member did in fact pray for help in calming the child, but her actions appeared not to have been based on malicious intent.”

As is routine, the facts of the case were reviewed by the district attorney’s office, Linnemeyer said.

“Basically, there was no crime committed,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Pamela Davis-Springer, who reviewed the case. “The boy had a history of violent behavior. The school employees used reasonable restraint.”

Uthe said through her attorney, Barry Goldberg, that while no crime may have been committed, she still believes Soper improperly used prayers to drive a demon from her son.

“No one ever accused the school of being malicious, just wrong,” Goldberg said. “The methods are the problem. It is bizarre behavior.”

Soper, who took a paid leave of absence from the school during the investigation and could not be reached for comment Thursday, earlier this month acknowledged that in December she gave Uthe a book that contained instructions on delivering demons from children. But Soper denied following any of those procedures when she restrained the boy.

Davis-Springer said the issue of whether prayers or other religious ceremony should be used during disciplinary action at the school is a responsibility of the church and school, not crime investigators.

“It is a religious school,” Davis-Springer said. “It seems like saying prayers would be normal.”

The prosecutor said news reports that described what Soper did while restraining the boy as an exorcism were greatly exaggerated and fueled unwarranted controversy.

David Sauer, pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, expressed support for Soper and said the incident was sensationalized by the news media.

“The whole use of that word exorcism very much sensationalized this,” he said. “I am not surprised by the result of the investigation, but we are very gratified.”

Although Sauer said Soper did not violate any school policy in handling the boy, he added that the incident has prompted an “overview of the curriculum and the religious teachings” at the school to make sure they coincide with those of the church.