The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Mother sentenced to jail for ‘torture’ of child
Cathleen Sola ‘disciplined’ daughter by heating metal spoon and pressing it to teenager’s skin
NORRISTOWN >> Comparing a Rockledge woman’s extreme form of child discipline to “torture,” a judge sent the woman to jail for heating a metal spoon and pressing it against the skin of her teenage daughter numerous times, causing the girl to suffer blistering burns.
“As a parent you’re to provide unconditional love to your children. You are to protect them. What you did was akin to torture. It is not conduct that is sanctioned anywhere in the world,” Montgomery County Judge Wendy G. Rothstein sternly addressed Cathleen J. Sola on Tuesday. “There is no doubt in my mind you knew what you were doing.
“I was sickened when I looked at the pictures,” Rothstein added.
Rothstein sentenced Sola, 39, of the first block of South Sylvania Avenue, to 11½-to-23-months in the county jail, the maximum sentence under an agreement reached between Assistant District Attorney Matthew Brittenburg and defense lawyer David Lehman.
The lawyers reached the sentencing cap after Sola agreed to a non-jury trial at which she stipulated to certain facts
contained in a police affidavit that outlined the May 2017 assault. Testimony revealed the agreement was reached in order to spare the victim the trauma of having to testify at a trial.
Rothstein subsequently convicted Sola of a felony charge of aggravated assault.
The judge also ordered Sola to complete five years’ probation following parole, meaning Sola will be under court supervision for about seven years. Furthermore, the judge ordered that Sola be placed under house arrest on electronic monitoring during the first year of the probationary period.
Sola, who works for a Philadelphia law firm as an office manager, is eligible for work release.
Sola also must complete parenting, anger management and domestic violence counseling programs and complete 500 hours of community service, Rothstein said. Sola also is prohibited from having contact with the victim until she reaches adulthood.
Brittenburg asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence under the agreement, calling Sola’s conduct “incomprehensible.”
“The effects on this child are extraordinary. Wounds heal but the psychological impact…is tragic,” argued Brittenburg, claiming Sola inflicted substantial physical pain and long term wounds that took a significant period of time to heal. “Think about what the victim must have thought and felt as her mother did that.”
Lawyer Adam Zucker, who represents the victim as a child advocate, told the judge, “It’s been difficult for her.”
Lehman argued for leniency on behalf of Sola, hoping for less than the maximum possible sentence allowable under the agreement.
“She wants to put this behind her,” said Lehman, who called upon several character witnesses who described Sola as “loyal, hardworking, loving and kind.”
Sola, a mother of three, told the judge, “My kids are my world.”
“I am not a monster. The past two years have really been hell so to speak,” said Sola, appearing to wipe tears from her eyes.
But Rothstein made note of Sola’s lack of an apology to the victim.
“You show no remorse. Your tears today are for yourself and the position you are in,” Rothstein addressed Sola.
But for the sentencing agreement reached between the lawyers, Sola would have been facing state prison time, Rothstein added.
Sola, authorities alleged, considered her conduct a form of discipline or punishment when the teenage girl couldn’t provide Sola with the password to a cellphone that was in the girl’s possession.
Brittenburg previously explained Pennsylvania has a statute that recognizes that parents or guardians of minor children may use corporal punishment during a child’s upbringing. The law recognizes that, but Sola crossed the line when she heated a metal spoon and pressed it to the victim’s skin and then repeated that a dozen times, Brittenburg alleged.
The investigation began about 5:45 p.m. May 8, 2017, when Rockledge police were contacted by emergency room personnel at Holy Redeemer Hospital where the 14-year-old girl was being treated for burn injuries to multiple parts of her body.
“Emergency room staff members advised me that (the victim) has blistering burns to her arms, back and stomach,” Rockledge Detective Luke M. Lukashunas wrote in the arrest affidavit, adding the girl was “in a great deal of pain.”
The girl told detectives the assault occurred when Sola confronted the girl about having a cellphone and demanded the password to the phone, according to court documents.
The girl said she gave Sola a password but it did not unlock the phone.
Sola then “turned on the gas stove” and took a metal spoon from a cabinet.
“(The victim) described the spoon as having holes that appeared like flowers to allow liquid to drain through the spoon,” Lukashunas alleged, adding after several other failed attempts to unlock the phone Sola placed the metal spoon in the stove’s flame.
The victim told detectives Sola took the hot spoon and hit her once in the stomach and she observed her skin to begin peeling immediately, according to the criminal complaint.
“(The victim) said her mother then proceeded to burn her repeatedly following each attempted incorrect password entry,” Lukashunas alleged. “(The girl) said she was not only crying but huffing and breathing hard from the pain.”
During the assault, Sola allegedly told the girl, “I have no pity for you,” according to court papers.
The girl eventually fled from the home. A woman who was passing the home in a vehicle observed the victim on a porch and noticed the girl was in distress. When the girl indicated she needed help and displayed the burns on her stomach, the Good Samaritan took the girl to the hospital for medical treatment. Police were then contacted.