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SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 2) (AP) - Prosecutors dropped kidnapping charges Thursday against a couple who fled Utah with their 12-year-old son to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy for the boy.
In exchange, Daren and Barbara Jensen pleaded guilty to custodial interference. The couple will receive no jail time or fines under the deal, and the misdemeanor conviction will be erased in a year if they stay out of trouble with the law.
The Jensens smiled as they entered their pleas, and Daren Jensen said afterward that they were ''feeling great.'' The couple declined further comment, but their lawyer, Blake Nakamura, said they accepted responsibility for the custody count.
''They understand why the DA's office filed these charges,'' Nakamura said. ''Their fundamental concerns have always been with the state's use of the judiciary for allegations of neglect.''
While the parents appear victorious in their highly publicized battle with the state, they still had to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, prosecutor Kent Morgan said.
The parents were charged with kidnapping their son, Parker, after he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a deadly cancer, and they refused a court order that he receive chemotherapy.
The Jensens said they left the state with the boy in August because they fear the treatment would stunt his growth and leave him sterile. They also contended he no longer showed signs of the illness.
The Jensens later surrendered, and the state agreed the couple could keep the boy if they abided by the treatment recommendation of an Idaho oncologist the couple selected.
The doctor recommended chemotherapy, but again the couple balked.
Thursday's agreement with prosecutors comes after state child-welfare authorities agreed to drop their efforts to gain custody of the boy and force chemotherapy on him.
Because of his parents' fierce resistance to chemotherapy - recommended by at least five doctors - the boy probably would not benefit from the treatment because he is unreceptive psychologically, Utah officials have said.
However, a juvenile court judge still could force the treatment in a hearing next Wednesday.
In exchange, Daren and Barbara Jensen pleaded guilty to custodial interference. The couple will receive no jail time or fines under the deal, and the misdemeanor conviction will be erased in a year if they stay out of trouble with the law.
The Jensens smiled as they entered their pleas, and Daren Jensen said afterward that they were ''feeling great.'' The couple declined further comment, but their lawyer, Blake Nakamura, said they accepted responsibility for the custody count.
''They understand why the DA's office filed these charges,'' Nakamura said. ''Their fundamental concerns have always been with the state's use of the judiciary for allegations of neglect.''
While the parents appear victorious in their highly publicized battle with the state, they still had to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, prosecutor Kent Morgan said.
The parents were charged with kidnapping their son, Parker, after he was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a deadly cancer, and they refused a court order that he receive chemotherapy.
The Jensens said they left the state with the boy in August because they fear the treatment would stunt his growth and leave him sterile. They also contended he no longer showed signs of the illness.
The Jensens later surrendered, and the state agreed the couple could keep the boy if they abided by the treatment recommendation of an Idaho oncologist the couple selected.
The doctor recommended chemotherapy, but again the couple balked.
Thursday's agreement with prosecutors comes after state child-welfare authorities agreed to drop their efforts to gain custody of the boy and force chemotherapy on him.
Because of his parents' fierce resistance to chemotherapy - recommended by at least five doctors - the boy probably would not benefit from the treatment because he is unreceptive psychologically, Utah officials have said.
However, a juvenile court judge still could force the treatment in a hearing next Wednesday.
