MILWAUKEE (AP) — A church minister was charged Tuesday in the death of an 8-year-old autistic boy who suffocated as church leaders tried to heal him at a storefront church.
Ray Hemphill was charged with physical abuse of a child causing great bodily harm. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and $25,000 in fines.
He remained in jail and it was not immediately clear Tuesday night if he had an attorney.
The charges stem from a service at the Faith Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith on Friday. The boy's mother, Patricia Cooper, told investigators the minister held Terrance Cottrell Jr. on the ground with one hand on his head, another between his legs, and his knee pressed into the boy's chest. Cooper and another woman each held one of his legs, while a third woman laid across his torso.
The mother "stated that while this was going on she could see Ray Hemphill talking to Terrance Cottrell and telling him that the 'Demon should leave him,"' for about two hours, the complaint said.