July 26th 2024.
Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz had a difficult decision to make. After all, he was sentencing a father who had starved his own seven-year-old daughter for nearly a year until she tragically passed away on Christmas Day. It was a heartbreaking case that had captured the attention of the entire community.
The father, Julius Fineday Sr, was 42 years old. He had been charged with "willfully depriving" his daughter, Jewel Sky Fineday, of food and health care for the entire year of 2022. The US Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota stated that Fineday had the means to provide for his daughter, but he chose not to. As a result, Jewel suffered immensely.
In March, Fineday pleaded guilty to a count of felony child neglect causing death. And on Tuesday, the day of his sentencing, Chief Judge Schiltz didn't hold back. He expressed his disgust for Fineday's actions, stating that he had neglected his daughter in "nearly every way" possible. It was a difficult statement to hear, but it was also the harsh truth.
Fineday was from Red Lake, Minnesota, and now he was facing a sentence for his daughter's death. The court heard how Jewel was lacking nutrition, had head lice, and hadn't seen a doctor in three years, except for when she received coronavirus vaccines that came with cash incentives. Fineday had even kept her from going to school, where she could have received meals.
The judge described Jewel as being "not just thin, but skeletal" when she tragically passed away. Her cause of death was malnutrition and a Streptococcal infection, both of which could have been prevented with proper care and attention. Fineday was also facing two years of supervised release for his crime, as stated by US Attorney Andrew Luger.
It was a somber day in court, but the judge acknowledged that Fineday's guilty plea before the trial was a sign of "sincere remorse". This was a significant mitigating factor in the sentencing, as prosecutors noted. Chief Judge Schiltz wanted to send a message to other caregivers that neglecting or abusing a child would not be tolerated, and there would be consequences for their actions.
He urged them to reach out for help if they were struggling to provide for a child's basic needs. In a similar case just a month prior, a New Jersey father was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment for forcing his own six-year-old son to run on a treadmill because he thought the child was "too fat". These cases were a reminder that the well-being of a child should always come first.
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