Lake Stevens couple seeks stiffer prison sentences

Published 9:55 pm Friday, March 6, 2009

OLYMPIA — A Lake Stevens couple pushing for tougher punishment of adults who beat children won support from lawmakers Friday.

Russell Woodruff and Rachel Pierce each fought back tears as they recounted for a House committee the story of how a baby-sitting neighbor beat their infant son, Eryk, nearly to death in 2007.

The parents expressed anger that the assailant, Matthew Christiansen, will serve a decade behind bars while Eryk, now 3, faces a life sentence coping with the brain damage suffered in the assault.

“In his one moment of ‘I can’t handle this’ he ruined my son’s future,” said Rachel Pierce, 26. “And now I have a completely different child.

“I have to mourn the death of the son that I had while learning to care for the child I’ve been given,” she said. “I love him dearly, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not the same child.”

The couple asked the House public safety committee to back legislation requiring a study on whether those convicted of first-degree assault of a child, like Christiansen, deserve prison terms longer than the present maximum of 10 years.

This measure, House Bill 2279, also would ban convicted offenders from ever working or volunteering where they are in charge of children under the age of 13. Current law does not make the prohibition mandatory and lets judges decide case-by-case.

“As legislators we have an opportunity to prevent this from happening,” testified Rep. Mike Hope, R-Lake Stevens, who authored an earlier version of the bill. “That’s what this legislation does.”

The committee approved the legislation that will be named for Eryk Woodruff.

It went to the Rules Committee, which is expected to put it before the entire House of Representatives for a vote by March 12.

Jerry Cornfield, 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.