DATE: December 16, 2024
RE: State v. Seth Slaseman and Jane Harrison
On Monday, June 17, 2024, Seth Slaseman and Jane Harrison pled guilty to First Degree Child Abuse before the Honorable Judge Mickey Norman in the Circuit Court for Harford County. Harrison was sentenced that day to twenty years suspending all but fifteen years to serve. On Monday, December 16, 2024, Slaseman was sentenced, also receiving twenty years suspending all but fifteen years to serve.
Facts presented in support of the plea showed that on January 2, 2020, a seven-month-old child was taken to Johns Hopkins in cardiac arrest. The child was suffering from severe malnutrition, weighing less than eight pounds. Authorities immediately began an investigation focusing on the birth parents, Seth Slaseman and Jane Harrison. Doctors kept the child at the hospital and determined that the child was not given adequate access to food. In less than four weeks, the child gained three pounds with regular and appropriate nutrition. After a series of delays in the case, several attributable to COVID and at least one due to each defendant’s failure to appear, both defendants entered guilty pleas to First Degree Child Abuse. The victim’s adoptive mother was present at both sentencing hearings and provided a statement to the Court, noting that the child who has now been entrusted to her care is thriving and is a light in her family’s life.
Following the sentencing, State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey issued the following comment: “I’m thankful today that this story has a happy ending, an ending where this innocent child is thriving, loved, and no longer suffering at the hands of her abusers. All the work we do is important, but in cases such as this, it is truly life changing. I’m so grateful for the incredible team of medical personnel, law enforcement, advocates, and prosecutors who stepped in to fight for this child and to ensure her safety, health, and growth moving forward.”
State’s Attorney Healey further expressed her gratitude to Assistant State’s Attorneys Jason Allen and Becky Malkowski for their tireless efforts in seeking justice for this child. She also thanks Harford County Sheriff’s Office Detective Dix, Department of Social Services Worker Kansler, and all of the dedicated staff of the Harford County Child Advocacy Center for the incredible work they do each day to protect our county’s most vulnerable victims, our children.