WARNING: This article contains details of child abuse.
When eight-year-old “Cole” arrived at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, he was in a state of extreme starvation and was suffering burns to his head and face from boiling water being poured over him — punishment for eating without permission.
This case of horrific child abuse was in a Calgary courtroom Monday as Justice Ken McLeod considers a fit sentence for the boy’s father, Matthew Jason Scott, 41, who pleaded guilty last spring to aggravated assault, forcible confinement and failing to provide the necessaries of life.
The boy and his siblings can’t be named because of a publication ban. CBC News is calling the victim “Cole.”
Court heard that most of the abuse was committed by Stephanie Alisha Baker, the victim’s stepmother. But Scott was aware, witnessed the assaults, starvation and neglect and sometimes participated, according to an agreed statement of facts (ASF).
Stepmother backed out of plea
Baker, who faces the same charges, has twice offered to plead guilty but backed out at the last second. Her charges are still before the courts.
At Scott’s sentencing hearing Monday, prosecutor Zailin Lakhoo proposed a 15-year prison term while defence lawyer Sean Leochko is expected to ask the judge on the next court date to consider a five-year term.
Cole is currently living in a loving home where his caregivers are working on rebuilding his self esteem.
Two of Cole’s teenage siblings, who also suffered in the Scott and Baker home and helped police during the investigation, attended the hearing Monday.
‘He was starving’
In the year leading up to his hospitalization, court heard that Cole suffered abuse every day that would last “most of the day,” according to the ASF.
“The majority of the abuse suffered by [Cole] was in relation to eating food while he was starving,” according to the facts.
In September 2023, Baker and Scott brought Cole to the Alberta Children’s Hospital over mental health and behaviour concerns.
But doctors and nurses noticed he was “severely emaciated” and suffering two black eyes.
Size of boy half his age
At the time, the eight-year-old weighed 36 pounds, according to the ASF, and was the size of a boy half his age.
Blisters, scars and abrasions covered his tiny body and medical staff called police immediately.
One of the first steps taken by investigators from the Calgary Police Service’s child abuse unit was to interview Cole’s older siblings.
Police discovered the teenagers were living in their own hell.
He’d ‘beg and cry for food’
During her interview with police, one of Cole’s older siblings told investigating officers that she hoped police would take her because she “doesn’t ever feel safe going home.”
She told the officer that she’d been warned by Baker not to talk to police.
The siblings told police they tried to stop the abuse, threatening to go to police, but they got in trouble so they backed down.
The children also disclosed that they’d witnessed Cole’s abuse and could also hear his screams. Sometimes, they said, they’d hide in their rooms, covering their ears.
The siblings said their parents were starving Cole and that he “would beg and cry for food constantly.”
Boiling water punishment
If Cole ate food from the fridge or cupboards, the parents accused him of stealing and he would be subject to further starvation and assaults.
As punishment for eating without permission, Baker would regularly place Cole, naked, in the bathtub, where she would pour boiling water on his head, according to the ASF. She was also known to smash Cole’s head against a wall.
The other children were not given breakfast or lunch but were usually fed dinner late at night after their chores, according to the admitted facts of the case. They told police they adapted to this eating schedule.
In the months leading to his hospitalization, Baker used zip ties and duct tape to attach Cole to a gate that was bolted to the floor in the upstairs hallway. Sometimes his mouth would be taped shut as well.
Cole slept outside
Cole was forced to sleep on the floor in the hallway without a mattress, pillow or blankets.
On occasion, Baker made Cole sleep outside on the deck, according to the ASF.
Other times, he would be locked outside in the cold for hours at a time, shivering and not allowed to wear a coat or hat.
During the day, Cole was forced to walk up and down the stairs inside the family home.
He was not allowed to wear clothing or use the bathroom in the home and was forced to wear only a diaper or a garbage bag.
Monitored by cameras
Baker and Scott set up cameras inside and outside of the home to monitor the boy who was becoming weaker by the day.
As Cole’s health deteriorated from the starvation and confinement, he was unable to stand up, walk, or lift his limbs, and was experiencing regular incontinence, which led to further punishment.
Two neighbours, mothers of children who played with Cole, noticed the starving, abused boy and tried to help.
One neighbour told police Cole would eat the snacks she provided while hiding in a tree, out of sight of the cameras Baker had set up.
‘Like a whipped dog’
She told police Cole “looked like a whipped dog.”
Another neighbour tried to provide food and warm clothing for Cole but reported to police that Baker told her Cole was a thief and wasn’t allowed in other people’s homes.
She witnessed Baker screaming at Cole when she discovered him wearing a coat.
Both women called police and child and family services in May 2023 but Cole was not removed from Baker and Scott’s care until his hospitalization four months later.
Scars a ‘lifelong reminder’ of trauma
In those four months, he lost 20 per cent of his body weight.
Cole remained in hospital for three weeks on a slow re-feeding protocol.
Now, he is living in a loving family environment but his scars — both physical and emotional — remain.
Two women who care for Cole report that he struggles with low self-worth and is constantly worried he’ll get into trouble.
“He requires constant assurance he is safe to make mistakes,” said one of the women, who described the abuse as “torture.”
The physical scars, said the other woman, are a “lifelong reminder of the trauma he endured.”
Scott wept through parts of the sentencing hearing.
