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D.A.’s Office Clears Preschool Administrator

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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 reported to deputies that Soper had disciplined her son, Colin, on Jan. 3 by holding the boy on the school floor and following the directions of a religious book on driving out demons. Soper said she and a school secretary prayed over the boy but were not following any religious procedure or ceremony, such as an exorcism.

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

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