UPDATE: James Sargent and Tracey Hermann
SARGENT GETS 100 YEARS IN PRISON
by Andy Kravetz, Peoria Journal Star
Saying James Sargent showed a “complete and total lack of remorse” for the death of his son last year, a Peoria County judge on Friday sentenced him to the maximum of 100 years in prison.
Sargent, 24, showed little reaction and stared ahead as Circuit Judge James Shadid read his appeal rights. As he left the courtroom, he didn’t look back at his parents or the parents of his former girlfriend, Tracy Hermann, also facing murder charges for the February 2008 death of Benjamin Sargent.
Shadid said little beyond praising detectives for their work, and he didn’t lay out his reasoning for the sentencing, as he normally does, beyond noting various legalities, saying “facts speak for themselves.”
“I don’t believe that someone who would let a 5-month-old rot to death would benefit from (an explanation of the sentencing) or even deserves one,” he said.
Sargent had just finished a 20-minute speech where he indicated he was at peace but was concerned for the rest of society. Talking with a clear and enthusiastic voice, he related a story about a farmer coping with an impeding storm, a parable for Armageddon. His 15-page statement
didn’t mention Benjamin, nor did it offer an apology.
It was the longest Sargent had spoken in public since his arrest, as he didn’t testify at trial.
Sargent was convicted in April of first-degree murder for the infant death (Original PYSIH Story). At that bench trial, Shadid also found the South Peoria man’s actions from Feb. 4 to Feb. 12, 2008, were “brutal and heinous . . . indicative of wanton cruelty,” factors which led to the enhanced sentence of up to 100 years.
After the sentencing, Thomas and Rosemary Sargent, James Sargent’s parents, were shocked and stunned with the decision. Both said they believed a sentence closer to the minimum of 20 years was more appropriate, considering their son will have to serve 100 percent of his time. Thomas Sargent looked saddened when he said that given his age, he would probably never seen his son free again.
Prosecutors Donna Cruz and Nancy Mermelstein argued that the infant’s diaper wasn’t changed for at least five days and possibly up to a week. He wasn’t bathed for about nine days. His last meal likely came three to four days before he was found, lifeless, on Feb. 12, 2008. Prolonged exposure
to that unchanged diaper caused his skin to be eaten away and allowed bacteria to seep into his body, ultimately causing his death.
“It’s pretty difficult to think of a more horrendous series of events than those caused by the defendant,” Cruz said. “He took a defenseless 5-month-old, strapped him into a car seat, put him into a crib and left him there for days on end.
“This child suffered and suffered terribly,” Cruz said.
Hermann, 22, of 3012 W. Proctor St., will stand trial in October. She remains in custody at the Peoria County Jail.
The infant was an acceptable weight at his two-month checkup. It had been unclear what caused such a tragic turnaround until the bench trial, when Sargent said on a videotaped statement to police the couple and the boy had been living with Hermann’s parents, who were helping with the child-care duties. Sargent and Hermann moved out when Benjamin was about 2 months old.
Sargent’s attorney William Loeffel contended his client was mentally ill and suffered from a slew of problems, all of which contributed to his neglect of Benjamin. At trial, Shadid denied a request by Loeffel to present evidence about Sargent’s dissociative disorder, a condition in which he would assume a role from “The Lord of the Rings” and shut himself off from the real world. The attorney did argue that at the sentencing but to little avail.
James Sargent, he said, wasn’t a bad person and pointed to testimony from the Sargents and Hermann’s parents who all described him as caring and kind. His role models, they all said, were knights in shining armor, and he was the type of person who stood up for the underdog.
Loeffel also said Sargent had done an adequate job of providing child care to the infant until his relationship with Hermann fell apart. That, Loeffel said, sent his client into a rage in which he attacked furniture and a door with a sword from his collection. After that, he retreated into his fantasy world.
60 Comments »
How do you forget you have a baby…. ? They weren’t even using drugs. I hope they rot.
Babies don’t allow you to forget they are there. These people had to be cold and heartless to force themselves to forget about that little munchkin. Diaper rash is extremely painful, and turns into open sores if it is allowed to fester. There is no way in hell they didn’t hear that little boy crying, unless they intentionally tuned him out.
RIP Benjamin. The worst is over.
The POS’s dad must be absent-minded as well. Doesn’t think he’ll see his son ‘free’ before he dies? Isn’t he forgetting someone? He’s also not ever going to be seeing his grandson alive EVER. He’s still going to be able to visit the POS in jail. Ah, priorities.
I don’t know what’s worse- not changing your baby’s diaper for ages, or not giving them baths. Babies live for that shit. Who hasn’t put their baby in the kitchen sink and let the have at the bubbles? Sad. Not only did he suffer a blistered bottom (which is one of the most painful things there is), but he didn’t even get the baby-joy of bathing.
Funny how attorneys can always pull dissassociative disorders out of their asses once their client commits murder. If he was so wacko, why’d his family say he was a good parent? Does his family also prance around with a swords like Tolkien characters? I’m guessing daddy didn’t have a job. And mommy probably didn’t either. Has she had another baby yet?
Gandolf was pretty smart- he’d probably know how to change a diaper and give a baby a bath. What losers.
c
Oh yeah, they do live for that! My 3 year old loves splashing in the tub. She hates getting washed, but she loves baths. She’ll climb into the empty tub and fill it up herself!
The only time my daughter ever got diaper rash was when I brought her to the Military Child Development Center. That place sucked! They kept the kids caged up, pretty much. And I saw roaches on the floor. I filed a formal complaint with my Chief, and when he took a look around, he was pissed. What do they do in return? Say that it’s my fault she was getting rashes and called DSS.
Bastards! When DSS showed up at my door, I demanded that they respect my rights and get a warrant and a formal complaint. Never heard from them again… >:)
I may be pretty cold and heartless, but that is only when at work or when I am “playing” Navy. As soon as I walk through my front door, it’s another story. My baby melts my heart and I become unrecognizable. From Major Asshole to Mommy in less than 2 seconds. I could never block out her sweet little voice. I don’t understand half of what she says, but I listen and converse with her. Even when she was still an infant, the only thing that got me through the work day was the anticipation of going home to her.
I hate, HATE, people who neglect and abuse their children. A child is the most precious gift you will ever have. If you don’t want one, get spayed or neutered, damn it. Or just swallow (I am pro-life).
I will say this again (it’s become my mantra) Swallowing, the pre-emptive abortion.
The majority of pictures I have of my boys between 0-4 is in water. Sink, bathtub, sprinklers, wading pools, big pools- I’d baby-proofed them both by 6 months. Babies LOVE water. The washing bit- who cares? If they’re in water every day they don’t need to be scrubbed. Babies are actually pretty clean but for the pooping et al.
The diaper rash thing- not so good. When my oldest was a few months old he got a rash from breastfeeding- I’d had malpractice and reconstructive surgeries and was on antibiotics I was ASSURED could not be passed through breast milk. They were wrong. He got such a rash it looked like I’d put his little bottom on the stove. It was horrible. The doctors did not help. Luckily I was employed at a pharmacy, and the pharmacist gave me a rx med- Silver SulfaDiazide cream. It’s mainly just sulfur and silver. Cured it in 2 days. My 2nd son never got a rash because I had that cream. It’s good for ANY sore or injury or skin infection. So, if you have kids or grandkids, get some. Off topic, I know, but I swear by it.. If you can’t get it, get silver spray at the health food store.
c
That’s all well and good unless you’re the one swallowing! Oral sex is nice and all, but it can really only serve one person at a time. Not really fair unless you trade off. How about just not having sex that involves body fluids? Or condoms? Or the MaybeMom system? Google it. It works- I swear by it.
c
GOD has the little baby now he is in a place were he will never cry and never go hungry. As for those 2 hell awaits you. I hope to get a weekend pass so I can down there and fuck you too over with a level of brutality and violence that would get me banned from hell.
Ugly freak….I’d like to attack him with a sword….
That’s mild considering what I’d like to do to the evil bastard. Poor baby. What the fuck is wrong with peoples minds anymore? I don’t understand how you can just ignore a child’s cries. I’m almost certain that where he’s headed ….he’s in store for some good old bubba attention. Sock it to him guys!! DAILY X 100!
how does changing a diaper SLIP ONES MIND?!
You have to have a mind in order for it slip. What they did is a crime against the whole word of good people that try hard and raise childern to the best they can.
I will never understand how you could purposefully starve/neglect/kill innocent children and animals. This story is one of the most repulsive cases of parental neglect I’ve ever heard of. With so many couples that can’t have children, why didn’t these POS’s give the baby up if they didn’t want the responsibility? This whole case boils down to the fact that these two were just lazy, irresponsible “sloths.” As someone that can no longer have children, I would have gladly taken this baby and raised him. Cases like this frustrate the hell out of me because it’s just really fucked up that psychos like this can have multiple children, while good people that want to be parents can’t have any. Again, a stellar example proving that there is a difference between breeders and parents. These two breeders need to be strapped into a chair and accidentally forgotten about. Let them feel like that poor baby did and suffer until there life leaves their worthless bodies. Then they’ll be discovered, but…..ooh wait…….it was too late……Sorry! We can only wish that would happen…..sigh!!
One of the saddest parts of all is that the female breeder wanted to give that beautiful baby up for adoption. I’m not sure if it was pressure from the male breeder or family, but that poor child never got the opportunity to experience the love, care and attention from a family who genuinely WANTED him.
100 years? I would say in this case, the sentence was right. Because, this scumball will have a light at the end of the tunnel. That means he will know somewhere inside that he might get out someday, but of course, he probably wont. Psychological torture? I have no problems with that.
Actually, what’s sad is that the breeder did NOT give the baby up for adoption. I was adopted out of an abusive home at age 6 . My adoptive parents are not perfect, but they were not physically abusive. My siblings who were not adopted out didn’t fare so well. My younger brother committed suicide.
A lot of the time it’s better to be adopted than dead. You’re still rolling the dice, since there’s so many foster and adoptive parents who are also abusive, but sometimes the unknown is better than the known, luck-wise. My foster care was ok, the groups homes were ok- certainly better than with my biological parents. Maybe I just got lucky.
But, for sure in this case, when neither parent cared, the baby would have been better off being raised by a dingo.
c
Glory, I really never understood how some children are removed from the home, or one child let’s say, and some siblings remain. How and why does that happen?
I don’t know either. according to my biological mother, the reason she gave me up instead of my two older brothers or my younger brother was because I was a girl. In fact, the name she gave me means ‘girl’.
Supposedly she wasn’t too happy about the attention I was getting from the men in her life- from her dad and grandfather to the men she was hooking up with. All for the best, actually, since she wasn’t hooking up with the most stellar men.
I’m not so sure it’s that simple. I was in several foster homes from birth until I was 6 – every time someone petitioned to adopt me she refused and took me back. So my only guess is that money somehow played a part in it.
Obviously I am really against the CPS and adoption guidelines that place such an importance on ‘reuniting’ families. I feel my biological mother’s ‘rights’ should have been terminated when she first put me up for adoption at age ‘one day’. Being given back to her over and over was just plain wrong. I identify with a lot of the sad stories on this site because I could have been one of them. I truly am lucky.
c
she actually told you it was b/c you were a girl? sounds like she had some very serious issues. and i don’t get why she had the choice to give you up for adoption, wasn’t CPS involved and didn’t they see any signs? sorry if that’s too personal, i have (thank God) never had any experience with CPS so i don’t really understand how they work, but from what i read on this site and from people’s experience, they aren’t doing much.
so did she finally agree for you to be adopted, doesn’t seem fair that it’s her choice once she decides to let go of her custody of you to begin with. exactly, doesn’t seem right that you kept going back to her when obviously anyone investigating the situation should have been able to notice that something was wrong?!
i can’t say i identify with the victims and victims’ families on this site, but my heart sure does go out to them. when the time is right in my life i hope to do my part and be a loving foster mother.
I have two children, and when i read this story i had to stop, numerous times to go and check on my children and hold them. I cannot read this story without crying and thinking about the torture this helpless child had to go through, i can only hope his parents get the same, if not much worse treatment in prison.
I looked at that picture of that baby and I remembered what it was like to hold my daughter when she was that age. I spoiled the crap out of her because I felt soooooo good when I would hold her and she would sleep on me.
I looked at that picture and I KNEW that to hold him would have felt JUST like that. And it broke my heart to know what he went through.
100 years is fine by me.
Mental illness…….. oh everybody has something wrong with them that causes them to do something bad……. Nobody wants to do anything bad… but they are forced to??????
It that what society thinks????
I do some stupid stuff because I do feel depressed every once in a while….. but I still have a choice….. maybe some times the urge to be stupid is stronger than other times, but I still have a choice. Some days my judgment is nt as good as others, but I still have a choice.
Neglecting a child for a few hours….. is that neglect or is that taking care of other needs – that’s debateable…. BUT for the length of time and to the extent that the excrement in the diaper ate the flesh and infected this child – hello just the smell should have said something?????? I have problems with a damp swimsiut…. I can NOT imagine the agony that this child felt.
And Jame’s parents …… they want that fucktard to walk free in 20 years???? I’ll be if he was sentenced to 20 years, they’d ask for a lesser sentence…..
I’ll make a deal with the parents… they can do some of their son’s sentence…. if they are really nice all 3 can be out in 33.3 years!
I can’t actually believe that his parents were willing to forgive him for what he did to a poor, defenseless BABY.
If that were my son, I’d be screaming at the judge ‘throw the fucker away forever!’
Regardless if it were my child who did such a heinous thing or not, I would not be so willing to forgive what they had done.
I agree. But if that was my grandchild, I guaran-damn-tee you that he would never have been allowed to suffer in the first place. There is no way that MY grandchild would not be getting Grandma lovin’s on a pretty regular basis.
But that’s me. These people must have had SOME inkling that their children were space cadets. So, the inference is that they really didn’t go out of their way to check up on their grandchild.
By the way, I reread some of the posts in the original story, and I had caught something interesting there. The Grandmother who claimed that the baby was happy and healthy 8 days before he died, seemed to have been lying about at least SOMETHING. She claimed to have changed his diaper when she dropped him off, but when he was found dead, he was still wearing his snowsuit. Would anyone – ANYONE – have put the baby back in a snowsuit after changing him? Not even most inbred losers like this are THAT stupid.
Oh yeah, and OF COURSE, this pair of putrid parents had a nice, well-fed, well taken care of…. wait for it…. PITBULL!
Fucktards.
The child would have faired better if fed to the pit bull – far less suffering.
If that were my grandchild…… it just would not happen if that child is a part of my life. I’ve taken pets away from my daughter because she did not care for them once they became boring (lizzards, etc)
Well, duh. Any real parent knows not to leave something like a snowsuit on a baby any longer than you have to, because it’s like wearing a sauna. You’re right- nobody in their right mind would change a diaper and then put a snowsuit back on. Did they not have heat because neither of the parents worked? I’m failing to see the snowsuit angle. Not only that, but kids can’t even move in snowsuits. Imagine being stuck in that with a dirty diaper- and then strapped into a carseat. That’s just plain purposeful torture.
c
He thinks he’s a character from Lord of the Rings? Ladies, would you sleep with someone who was convinced they were Frodo?
He really DOES look like a fuckin hobbit.
Don’t insult the hobbits. He looks more like gollum
In my opinion,
I feel that the cruel and selfish people who intentionally allow their child to die, should suffer the same death they bestowed upon the helpless tyke.
I am by no means a violent person, but I do firmly believe that is how murder cases and the like should be handled in all 50 states.
Say a guy stabs another man fifty times in the head and neck….that is how he should be treated.
Screw this ‘time remanded for good behavior’ crap.
Locking them up only allows them to keep that murderous potential, and they will continue to kill while incarcerated.
It’s a win-win situation.
Morals went out the window when a five month old child was left for days strapped into a car seat with nothing to comfort him but the growling of his empty stomach and his tired cries.
Sick people.
“Morals went out the window when a five month old child was left for days strapped into a car seat with nothing to comfort him but the growling of his empty stomach and his tired cries.”
Absolutely right Mom. So why should we be so concerned about being moral to him? I hope he doesn’t get some high-security deal where he’s separated from other inmates to ‘protect’ him when nobody seemed to give a you-know-what about the protection of that baby.
I remember how much this story bothered me when I first read it, but now that my son has been born- I can’t even describe how it feels to look at him and think that someone out there could do things like this to a baby. I think 100 years is a perfectly acceptable sentence- although I really wish they would hobble him, throw a Depends on him, and leave him laying in bed until he dies writhing in a pile of his own shit. Guess that would be considered cruel and unusual- but I truly believe in the golden rule. I agree with Fred, also- his parents are ridiculous.
Whoa….I can hardly believe this is real. It never occured to these creatures that their child was there??
How can two such hideous people make such a beautiful child??
This is just so freakin sad. I have two sons. I LOVED that age!! They were just so cute with the big smiles showing just two bottom teeth, kicking their little feets, chunky thighs and hair that smelled like baby magic. Even the rare times someone else would watch my kids, I would take some adult time and rush home to hold them again…it was like a drug to me just to kiss their little faces. How can any parent do that??? Mine are 13 and 7 now, and I still miss those precious baby days with both of them. When I think of how my boy’s would light up when they saw me or daddy or any other loved one, it makes me soooo sad to think how happy and cooing he would have been if somebody, ANYBODY, would have come in and paid him just one iota of attention. I’m glad they got 100 years. Now if they could just put them in “the hole” and give them absolutely nothing until they die…..oh well.
I remember when I first read this story. My opinion of BOTH parents has not improved. That poor, poor sweet little baby. How could his parents do this to him…. unbelievable. No punishment is severe enough for BOTH OF THEM. They are garbage!
RIP little Benjamin.
I have been following this trial for a long time now and reading what happened to that poor baby kills me every time. If he were my baby he would have gotten snuggles, kisses, toys, lots of milk and undivided attention. Becoming a mother was the best thing in the world and is the greatest joy and privilege in my whole life. I do not understand people who toss away such a precious gift. RIP sweet Benjamin.
Holy Fucking Shit.
Unreal. What a beautiful baby. I know kids can be a handful, but what in the hell were both of these scumsucking motherfuckers thinking?
I hope they die in prison, violently.
Unreal. Rest in Peace Beautiful Baby Benjamin.
So is it true that there were no drugs involved? Was there alcohol involved? It wouldn’t somehow make this situation any better but I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around how someone who is not under the influence of anything could neglect their child like this.
I’m not necessarily placing blame on the grandparents, but I do wonder… James, Tracey and baby Benjamin all lived with the grandparents for a couple months…I guess I just wonder how great of parents James and Tracey could have been that the grandparents didn’t have some concern when they moved out on their own. You don’t go from parents of the year to literally ignoring your child until he dies. I could be making a wrong assumption, but my gut feeling is that Tracey and James were probably never particularly great parents and if I’m right, I wonder why the grandparents weren’t more active in Benjamin’s life when he moved out.
Once, my mother came over and my cat’s water bowl was empty. It couldn’t have been for more than half a day, I love the cat dearly and she is the first thing I check on whenever I get home…i just spaced out on the water bowl for a second. I got a mom-lecture about how important it is that she have water at all times and how I should perhaps leave a message for myself on the fridge. Still, to this day, i see her peek into the water bowl whenever she comes over. If she had even a grain of a reason to doubt my ability to care for a real child, I can’t even imagine how invasive she would be.
Again, I don’t know enough about them or their role in Benjamin’s life at that point to say that they were wrong, but it did strike me when I read the story that no one in the extended family seemed to know about the neglect.
The blame for this should fall on Tracey and James, no question, but it makes me sad to read these stories where a child suffers and no one in the family seems to be around until after the child dies or is seriously injured.
My mom might go three days tops without calling under the guise of talking to me (really just to check on my daughter and make sure I’m showering her with love and attention). Hell, my mother in law (who is the only one nearby where we live) sees her every single day. You have to wonder if maybe the whole family was just… lost? I read an article shortly after baby Benjamin’s funeral. All the grandmother had to say was “I didn’t know what happened after I left.” This pathetic couple had already pawned off one child to a family member, so when they had another you have to wonder why no one stepped in.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree sometimes.
I hear you about the Mom thing. My mother was a very busy attorney living about 50 miles away when my daughter was born. She would call at least every day, and drive up 3x a week for the first month, twice a week till the baby was about 6 months, and then at least once a week after that. She knew I was a good mother, but she had to make sure that “her baby” was OK. =)
Keep in mind that I was pretty much raised by nannies and my mother was known for not being particularly maternal… Now that I think about it, I guess the apple does sometimes fall far from the tree. lol.
Mazz… I would agree with your first one… doesn’t fall far from the tree. My mom wasn’t so maternal either but as a grandma, damn, she is fiercely protective of my kids. So I think the instinct and feelings were there but I know mine was going through so much in her life at the time that I was young that even though she made sure I was always well-taken care of, taking care of me the way she maybe wanted to just couldn’t happen at that time. Now that she’s a grandma, she’s more settled and able to be ‘motherly.’
woah woah woah – these 2 had a kid BEFORE? Would you not learn from that (especially if she said she didn’t want a kid) to then take measures to ensure you woludn’t get pregnant again?
What cunts
You make a good point. I learned everything I needed to know about being a parent by having pets from 16-34. If you cannot take care of a pet (meaning don’t give them away when they bore or inconvenience you) for their natural lifespan, which for healthy cats and dogs can be from 5- 18 years, you should not have children. Responsibility for some reason seems really important in the whole keeping-babies-alive business.
These POS’s pitbull may have appeared well-fed, but I’ll take a guess that they got the dog AFTER moving out of mommy and daddy’s house, meaning the dog might have been well-fed before they got him. I’ll also guess that they had pets at the time of the poor baby’s birth that they ‘got rid of’ before moving into M&D’s. Just a guess.
c
OMG!!! Unreal! These two, well, I’m just speechless for real. Two fucking assholes for sure…..
I hope bot flies infest their asses
- I heard about this case rather recently after I read about the horrifying death of Briana Lopez, another 5-month old who was beaten and raped by her breeders. I thought after I read about Briana that I would never hear anything so tragic and rage inducing again…however after reading about what little Ben went through for 8 days…this story has kept me up at night.
I have a 15-month old little boy and am expecting my second child, and simply can not imagine what little Ben had to endure, and how profound and heartbreaking his suffering was. I honestly want to get my hands on these two freaks and beat them for months…slowly. I want to dunk them in hot oil. I want to set their faces on fire and pound out the flames with an ice pick….I seriously want these two to know agony and pain beyond their wildest imagination.
One can only hope that someone some time soon will corner these two in prison and literally beat the living shit out of them daily.
I will never ever forget about Ben, and can only have faith that the worst is over for him..and that he is happier now.
did anyone else notice the smirk on the face in the bitch’s mugshot?
Momwhocares…yes. And seriously, how much do you want to smack the ever lovin’ shit out of her ? Dear God in heaven, I would actually pay money to punch this bitch non-stop. Same with that THING she copulated with.
Some people have faces that were created just to be smacked. These two creatures certainly fit the bill.
I read somewhere (I can’t remember where though) that these two already had one child that they had given away before baby Benjamin was born. I believe that it said that family members were taking care of the original baby. Does anyone know if this is true?
If this is true, I wonder why it was assumed that baby Benjamin would be okay with these two breeders and he wasn’t removed from their care. What is so heartbreaking is (if there was really a first child) I bet that the same individual would have gladly taken baby Benjamin and given him a good and loving home.
What really bothers me about this case is the fact that the mother didn’t want baby Benjamin, but that the father talked her into keeping him. Why did he do this if he wasn’t going to take care of Benjamin? That just makes me so sick to my stomach to know that if the father hadn’t talked the mother into this, that this little one would probably be alive today and now learning to walk and talk. I can’t get this story out of my head. All I can think about is how this baby suffered in agony and died so horribly. RIP Baby Benjamin!
Corset Lass…
Yes, this disgusting pair had another daughter who was three when baby Ben was murdered, AND was in the house while Ben was strapped into the car seat, wearing a snowsuit, in an 80 degree room slowly dying from simultaneously being starved to death, and being poisoned from his own waste collecting in his diaper. From what I know, the female breeder did not want the daughter either, and pawned her off to a family member…how the daughter was returned to these two…well, that I do not know.
Imagine what that little girl must have been thinking as little Ben was screaming and crying for someone…anyone to come and rescue him.
Most of these stories on this site bother me to no end, but this one…this one has literally kept me up at night. I lie awake at night thinking about that poor little boy and what he had to endure for 8 days. Not to mention the fact that this angel weighed only 10 pounds and was 5-months old. That’s right…10 pounds. My little boy weighed almost 9 pounds when he was born !!!
Before I had my son, stories like this made me angry….now, these stories ENRAGE me, and I seriously want to kill these two. What they did to that sweet little boy…my fucking god…it’s unreal.
I think in prison they should be forced to wear diapers, locked in a sauna with ski parkas on, and be restrained so that they cannot wipe their own shit from their asses…See how their son felt. Unbelieveable fucks.
Hello gang this is my first post so please forgive me if I make a mess outta it..
I’ve paced a hole in my floor over this story and I have felt every emotion that a person could feel. from despair to such intense rage that I felt kinda like maybe I’m a real lunatic but I have a 14 month old baby so I put my self in check of coarse but these astonishingly evil stories make me hug my baby a little tighter and give a few more kisses every day. I realize what a true blessing I have with my daughter that I am truly astounded that any person could treat a miracle is this horrendous way.
I make memorials for lost abused children as often as I can and little Ben was one I actually received messages over to speed it up on creating one for him. it was really hard for me because every time I even hear about this story my nerves get frayed and I am really raw.
So as I was digging up info on Ben’s story, As I understand it as far as his Sister Natalie goes she is Herman’s child and never gave up legal rights (probably to lazy really) and basically just dumped her daughter into her family’s laps. it was until she had Ben that her daughter started to spend time with her and that was because her family thought they were becoming something of a decent family unit. It appeared that after her arrest that Natalie was put into foster care till Herman gave up parental rights and she was returned to Herman’s family.
Sargent sister posts to that effect here
http://www.galesburg.com/news/news_state/x512360120/Trials-for-parents-accused-of-starving-son-set
She didn’t mention if Natalie was in the home during this 8 day nightmare but she was supposedly living there with them at the time so I assume she was..what could that poor child have thought hearing her baby brothers screams? despite her age I am sure this is going to destroy her for a lifetime.
I do know the judge is going to try to make it so Tracy can never see her daughter again in visits or any other form of contact, good man.
Natalie with the Monster Herman’s
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/1049/natoli.jpg
A picture of baby Benjamin with big sister Natalie
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/2209/bennatalie.jpg
rest in peace ben
whoops see I already screwed up my first post! I meant it was Tracy’s sister who posted on that website..
Endchildabusenow…hopefully I’m not missing this in the original write up with comments, but what website are you refering to ? I’d like to have a chat with this sister if possible.
Great comment endchildabusenow – I went and read that comment by Tracy’s sister with great interest. What amazed me was the post right after, from a friend of Tracy’s, in effect saying SHE knew Tracy better than anyone and it was all JAMES’ fault. It was kind of comforting to know that we aren’t the only website that has to put up with ignorance and stupidity as extreme as that.
I believe we’ve corresponded by email recently, and I know how dedicated you are to the innocent victims of human garbage like Tracy and James. I hope you continue to share your thoughts on the subject with us whenever you feel the need.
Thanks for those links, endchildabusenow…
I clicked on the one where I’m assuming Ben is being held by his older sister. He is a newborn in that picture. – What an absolutely, insanely gorgeous child he was.
I am very seldom rendered speechless, but looking at that picture of him…it haunts me, and most likely will for a long time, if not forever.
I don’t even have anything else to say…
Thank you Max for your warm and kind welcome, I will post here more often some of the stories you yourself have covered are ones that really broke my heart and I will carry with me the rest of my life. I have lurked on Pysih for quite some time because the writing is through and top notch. I research and read about victims of abuse and neglect every day and only have four feeds that I feel are worthy of checking the their updates and Pysih is one of them. Thank you for posting stories we all care about and write as many of the facts as possible. the facts might make some people angry but anger will hopefully fuel change and maybe another child won’t end up in heaven from such abuse. we can hope.
(btw-The story I wrote to you about is here, he’s Joseph E. Duncan III, that one I couldn’t bare to research because I seem to have a knack for accidentally finding things I can’t un-see)
Oh you are soooo right about the crazies posting all over the net. don’t feel alone they’re every where! For example I was following a SBS’s child’s story and realised the perps new girlfriend was all over hell saying she has proof shaken baby syndrome is a myth yadda yadda you can image the uproar that followed this woman..
Anyway I wish I had the foresight I do now to copy and make screen shots of the cases I followed and found things that relevant to these cases.
For instance both of these monsters at one time had my space pages that claimed they were proud parents A quote from Tracy’s my space page questionnaire: “”are we talking drugs like the doctor gives you when you have a cold or the bad stupid s***(eta) stupid people do to forget their stupid lives? AND i do not do drugs … and i don’t take meds though somepeople think i should be on them lol .”(removed) there was a conversation at the demon I can’t find now with someone who claimed to be related to them. Also the Obits are gone which said
” PEORIA – Benjamin Allen Reeve Sargent, 5 months, of Peoria passed away Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008, at his residence in Peoria.
Benjamin was born Aug. 27, 2007, to James E. Sargent and Tracy Del Hermann of Peoria.
Benjamin is survived by his loving parents,..” Etc..
Wow real loving parents huh?
another article missing now is one from the Peoria paper http://www.pjstar.com stating “told the woman that he would “cut her head off.” Police were called and found a large sword and knife collection in his house as well as some drug paraphernalia. He was arrested for that and sentenced to probation a few months later.
During that incident, Hermann was alleged to have been at James Sargent’s side and chose to remain with him even after police arrived.”
this one http://www.centralillinoisnewscenter.com/news/local/16348926.html has a person in comments who when to school Sargent that says ”
We was told that he also stabbed his mother in the stomach with a screwdriver while she was pregnant because he was jealous..he was in a mental institution at one time…I believe that since he was in an institute he shouldn’t have been aloud to have a child in his care ever”.
So you see this junk he came up with about Tracy making him nuts and sending him Hobbiton is just a load of crap.
Sorry about my terrible record keeping, it’s crappy but getting better unlike these two’s parenting skills.
_______________________
Thank you too Maelstrom, I understand how you feel totally, this just breaks my heart
I think will haunt you, it does me. my baby fell asleep in her car seat this winter and husband brought her in the carrier and said “lets just let her sleep there for awhile” I wigged the hell out.. he meant no harm but all I could see was little Ben. it’s so terrible I am scarred for life.
“Benjamin is survived by his loving parents”…OMG !!! You’ve got to be joking me. I wonder if the grandparents wrote that obit..and I’ll tell you this much, I’ve got zero sympathy for them. They actually complained when their baby murdering son got 100 years in prison, lamenting that it should have been 20 or 30 years.
The Briana Lopez case took me to your site a while ago, and that one just about killed me. I thought to myself, “Ok, it’s not going to get any worse than that.” But then I heard about Benjamin, and I saw a picture of Benjamin, and he looked so much like my 15 month old son…honestly, I was in tears when I read his story. It kills me every time I read it or think about it. But, I also WANT it to hurt because that way I will never forget about little Ben, or the thousands of other children like him who have to endure suffering that we have never known.
So thank you for creating your beautiful website, endchildabusenow…I am not very religious, and pretty much consider myself agnostic, but I do hope with every fiber of my being that all of the children you have featured, as well as the ones we don’t know about, past, future, and present are in a better place, and are happier.
August 27 is little Benjamin’s birthday. Perhaps I will start to light him a candle on that day so that he knows someone cares. – I won’t EVER forget about that sweet little man.
And now of course I’m sobbing.
when I get upset I am the typo queen, I apologize and you’ll probably see allot of that outta me cause these stories just rip my hear out.
the part of the paper I have that’s missing is “the couple’s pit bulls tried to attack a 2-year-old girl last April. When a woman went to protect the child, James Sargent allegedly told the woman that he would “cut her head off.”
can’t believe I didn’t paste that.. sorry
Thank you for visiting my website and your lovely compliment. I want to make a special page for Brianna. right now I just have that horrible news reel and the petition. I am sorry that clip is truly nightmarish..the first time I watched it I let out a scream and wailed.
I most be allot like you.besides we both have babies around the same age I to am not a very religious person and I started to doubt there even was a Hell but after I started doing my pages I have to admit I truly hope there is one with a special place for anyone who would inflict such pain and cruelty on a helpless defenseless victim. (children, animals, elderly, etc).
there are many on my site and I wish I could make a page for all of them but sadly the tally has been growing by leaps and bounds but I too pray they are all in a special place.
I think that is a wonderful idea for letting balloons go on his Birthday! I would really like to do the same, thanks for suggesting it..my sister followed this story too, I think she would like to also.
First, please don’t worry about making a typo…we all do, and most of us can easily differentiate between inadvertently hitting the wrong key and being an illiterate moron…lol..so absolutely no worries there.
I wish your site didn’t have to exist, and I think you realize why. But I am so gald that it does, and while it might be easier and less stressful for all of us to bury our heads in the sand and not subject ourselves to reading these horrific stories, I feel that it is our obligation to do so. Besides which, if these little angels had to endure the unthinkable, then it is our duty to pay attention and read their stories regardless of how much it kills us. Because let me tell you…reading about Ben, it breaks me in half, and I’m a pretty stable human being….but I literally can not take that one, and I have wanted to punch walls. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions for me…I want to kill those two breeders for what they did to that boy, I want to time travel back and rescue him, and I want to scream out of sheer unmitigated outrage.
It’s hard, nearly impossible for me to believe in a “GOD” that would allow such things to happen to these little ones, and yet I am not so arrogant to dismiss “GOD” entirely, or assume that I have the capacity to understand his decisions. I simply do not know. But there HAS to be a place for these murdering bastards…..there has to be, and I almost refuse to accept the possibility that there is absolutely nothing after this life.
I would have gladly taken Benjamin. I would have loved to have had that chance, as I’m sure you would. He would be almost 2 now, and I would love to watch him grow up surrounded by love and affection. – We can only hope that he has that now.
I’m actually very early into my second pregnancy and have tossed around the idea of naming this one Benjamin…if they are a boy. Who knows ?
But let’s make sure he is never forgotten…along with the other angels who deserved so much more.
Thank you again, and I appreciate your dedication and hardwork. Seems we have much in common. :)
sorry for my late response, I just seen your post. thank you for over looking my typos. I drive myself nuts like that. congratulations on your pregnancy too!
We do think alike because I see you share exactly how I feel about why I keep going and reading and sharing these stories on my website as well. even for myself I am far more aware of the signs of abuse and in own life realized someone I’m related to following a disturbing pattern and had to alert not only the reality to rest of the family but authorities as well. if I didn’t know as much from other angels stories I believe I to would have made excuses and pretend it wasn’t happening. sadly I was right and my relative had all of her children taken from her. I’m working with my family now as to if it’s in their best interest to take the kids our selves or keep them as far away from her as possible by letting them be adopted.
I think it’s really sweet your considering naming your child after Benjamin. I thought of naming my Daughter Brianna after Brianna Lopez. I first heard her story just before my child was born but I worried I’d want to cry every time I said her name.
We love these babies Maelstrom, I have no doubt we will keep they’re memories alive.
Thanks for being a wonderful person, it’s nice to see that others care and love these angels <3 I'm sure your a great Mom.
Boy, oh, boy oh boy!
This monster (both of them) deserve the deepest hottest PART of hell!
*Update*
Hermann, 23, of 3012 W. Proctor St. apologized to everyone in the courtroom, saying she believed that her plea to first-degree murder and subsequent sentence of 50 years would allow her son, Benjamin, to finally have “justice.”