3 charged with torture of Oswego County child

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3 charged with torture of Oswego County child

ALBION, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – Three people in Oswego County are facing felony charges for allegedly torturing a 10-year-old victim for months at a home in Albion.

Oswego County Undersheriff Gene Sullivan described the case as one of the worst instances of abuse that the agency has seen in its recent history.

The Sheriff’s Office began investigating when the victim reportedly escaped from the home on Albion Cross Road and fled to a neighbor’s home.

When the Sheriff’s Office arrived, they found the victim suffering from bruises, abrasions, and rope burns.

A second victim, a 3-year-old, was also suffering from prior burns resulting from the abuse, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators say that the suspects used a rolled up newspaper wrapped in electrical tape to beat the 10-year-old victim.

The suspects allegedly sometimes gave the weapon to a juvenile to administer the beatings because they believed the juvenile could not be charged with a crime.

In addition, they say the victim was taken in the middle of the night to nearby Happy Valley State Park where the suspects forced the victim to strap on three weighted backpacks and a pillowcase filled with heavy objects and run for hours.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the suspects bumped the child with a car when she didn’t run fast enough, or dragged the child behind the vehicle with ropes.

Finally, the Sheriff’s Office says, the child was regularly deprived of food – subsisting on one meal a day – and forbidden from using the bathroom.

Investigators say these incidents lasted for hours – with the suspects leaving the home with the child at midnight and not returning until 4 a.m.

Three adults who lived at the home are charged with second-degree assault:
Gary Bubis Jr., 37
Shawn Whaley, 23
Brandy Shaver, 18

Bubis faces an additional second-degree assault charge for allegedly plunging the 3-year-old’s hand into boiling water, producing the burns.

In addition, a fourth suspect, Leslieann Rayder, 34, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

The suspects were arraigned in Williamstown Town Court.

The three were jailed in lieu of $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond.

Rayder was released on an appearance ticket.

The Sheriff’s Office is still investigating – and they strongly believe additional charges are pending.

Anyone with any information that may help their investigation is urged to contact Sheriff’s investigators at 315-349-3411.