A Florida man who adopted a boy before forcing him to spend weeks of his life like a prison inmate — by locking him in a tiny room that he hired a contract worker to build in the family’s garage — was sentenced to spend the next five years of his life in state prison on Thursday.
In October, Timothy Ferriter, 48, was convicted on one count each of aggravated child abuse, false imprisonment, and neglect of a child for the torture-like punishment meted out to the child.
A lengthy — and often tense — sentencing hearing unfolded in Palm Beach County before 15th Circuit Court Judge Howard Coates.
“The conduct he engaged in was considered, it was calculating, it was methodical, and it was planned,” the judge mused. “There were plenty of opportunities that the defendant had to reflect on whether what he was doing was wrong.”
The defendant will also be on probation for five years after being released.
Coates said Ferriter had ample time to conduct “a sanity check” on his behavior, “but that never happened.”
The maximum sentence that could have been imposed was 40 years in prison. The state asked for 15 years, and Florida sentencing guidelines suggested a sentence of six years and four months.
Explaining his ruling, the judge said it was clear to him that the facts did not suggest a typical child abuse case but, rather, one in which the defendant believed he was dealing with a “problem child.”
Stressing he was not endorsing the defendant’s conduct — and was not convinced the child was a problem — the judge said he did not believe Ferriter was “an innately evil person.”
Coates said he was initially inclined to sentence him to a longer prison sentence but was moved by the show of support he received during victim-impact statements.
That explanation was a marked victory for the defense.
As the sentencing hearing began, defense attorney Prya Murad argued the “vast majority” of people in the gallery and watching online via Zoom were there to support her client.
The state argued support was not a “valid legal ground” for a downward sentencing departure, saying it simply was insufficient under the law. The state rubbished the idea that character witnesses for the defense — including anonymous online court watchers — could be used to mitigate a convicted person’s punishment.
“A person doesn’t get sentenced in a criminal case based on what people have seen on YouTube about a case,” the prosecutor said.
Ultimately, the court repeatedly remarked that his sentence would upset everyone.
Ferriter was initially arrested on Feb. 8, 2022, on child abuse and false imprisonment charges. His wife, Tracy Ferriter, 48, was also charged then. Their trials were severed on a request from the husband’s defense attorney, who claimed the wife made inconsistent statements throughout the investigation.
Underlying the sentencing was some of the victim’s behavior. There, the judge tried to walk a fine line.
“He at least thought he was dealing with a problem child,” Coates said — but said he had to show that society can’t countenance the extreme methods of punishment used to discipline the boy.
Ample tension in the hearing came by way of defense efforts to have a nonexpert witness testify about her personal experience as a parent of a child with reactive attachment disorder, often shortened to “RAD” during the trial.
The victim is said to have suffered from the disorder.
Murad repeatedly asked questions of the RAD mother that the state objected to — and that the judge sustained. Those slapped-down questions essentially requested responses akin to medical expert testimony. Overall, numerous state objections were sustained by Coates as to the RAD mother’s testimony. Only one was overruled.
Timothy Ferriter provided an allocution that was largely an equal parts liturgical and intellectualized defense of his actions.
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“From the day I was born on a military base in Quantico, Virginia, to this day, there have been many challenges,” Timothy Ferriter began.
He referred to his “Catholic faith,” repeatedly expressed his love for his family, and apologized “for everything” his family had been through due to his actions.
“My life is not about me,” the defendant said at one point. “Everything I did was out of love.”
He added that his job as a father was to protect his daughters, and in that regard, he had failed.
“In the end, all you have is your faith and your family,” the condemned man said, addressing his family. “Please keep your faith strong and know that while none of this makes sense, God has a plan.”
Timothy Ferriter reacts to his sentence on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. (Law&Crime Network)
Timothy Ferriter ended his speech by empathizing with the court and the “grave decision” the judge had to make. The defendant asked to be sentenced to home confinement so he could provide for his family and avoid prison violence, which, he suggested, was likely because he is well-known and is “a target” behind bars.
“The statement that you heard today was shockingly devoid of a real, substantive apology,” lead prosecutor Brianna Coakley said.
Coates agreed.
The judge told Murad during a back-and-forth that her client had not accepted he had done anything wrong. And, just before the sentence was read aloud, Coates suggested he might have issued an even more lenient sentence — if Timothy Ferriter had given a greater indication that he might do things differently a second time.
While not convinced the defendant accepted he was wrong, the court remarked that Timothy Ferriter likely came from a very strict military household, and, in a sense, discipline was all he knew.
The victim tearfully testified during the hourslong proceedings on Thursday afternoon.
“I just wish you the best,” the boy said. “I want you happy whether or not it’s with me.”
Overall, the victim’s comments seemed more or less understanding of his father’s actions. The boy had previously testified during the trial that he was, in fact, hard to discipline.
“The last thing I want to do is hate,” he said. “I still love you, and I will continue to love you for the rest of my days … Just remember that I’m still your son, and I’ll always remember that I’m still a Ferriter.”
The child asked the judge to sentence his adoptive father to six months behind bars and five years probation.
The state responded with a victim impact statement from a medical expert who testified that victims of abuse, particularly child victims of abuse, often come to identify with their abuser.
Coakley then read a victim-impact statement from the boy’s older sister. Now an adult, she described a terrorized household where children learned to remain silent — even as their father’s near-constant anger led to shouted profanities, slammed doors, the sounds of a beating, and then the child’s cries of pain.
“I looked for any sign of an understanding father,” she wrote. “We were all actors, pawns in the game of life our parents wanted us to play.”
Timothy Ferriter’s rage, his daughter claimed, was often set off by “little issues,” and her mother would follow suit.
Many of those concerns were echoed in another victim-impact statement by the boy’s younger sister.
“It was horrific,” the younger girl wrote. “Being in that house was scary.”
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