Former pediatrician who 'waterboarded 11-year-old stepdaughter in experiment' set to confront girl's mother in trial
- Melvin Morse, 60, is facing charges of child endangerment and assault
- He was arrested in 2012 after allegedly dragging his then 11-year-old daughter across a gravel driveway
- While being interviewed by authorities, the girl revealed that he waterboarded her four times as punishment
- The girl's mother, Pauline Morse, was also arrested for not stopping the alleged abuse
- She has since plead guilty to misdemeanor charges and will testify against her husband in his trial
- As of last May, she was still trying to regain custody of her two daughters
Abuse: Former Delaware pediatrician Melvin Morse plans to testify in his trial which started yesterday. Morse is being accused of waterboarding his 11-year-old stepdaughter
The former pediatrician accused of waterboarding his 11-year-old stepdaughter will 'absolutely' testify in his trial, the man's attorney told Delaware's News Journal Monday.
Opening statements in the trial against 60-year-old Melvin Morse were scheduled for Tuesday morning after a jury of eight women and four men was selected yesterday.
Morse is pleading not guilty to child endangerment and assault charges following his 2012 arrest for dragging his stepdaughter across the driveway by her ankles.
After being interviewed by authorities, the girl revealed that she had been waterboarded by her stepfather on four occasions and that her mother did nothing to stop the punishment.
The girl's mother, Pauline Morse, was also arrested at the time but plead guilty last May to misdemeanor charges and agreed to testify against her ex-husband. The two divorced several years prior to the abuse, but continued to live as husband and wife.
Morse was the eminent researcher on near-death experiences in children and had appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America and Larry King Live to discuss his research. He is the author of two books on near-death experiences, 'Closer to the Light' and 'Transformed by the Light'.
Expert: Before his arrest, Morse, right, was the eminent researcher on near-death experiences in children. He was interviewed as an expert by Larry King and Oprah and authored two books on the subject
High profile: In 1992, he was also interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, pictured holding up a copy of his book
But his medical license was revoked after his neighbor reported him for child abuse two years ago. He worked as a pediatrician in a private practice in Milton, Delaware.
His stepdaughter, then 11, told the neighbor she refused to get out of the car when they returned home, so Morse forcibly brought her into the house by dragging her by her ankles across the gravel driveway and then spanked her.
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In an interview following the initial driveway incident, the girl told authorities about how her stepfather would waterboard her as punishment for bad behavior.
He would hold her under faucets in the kitchen, bathroom and bathtub so that water would shoot up her nose, mimicking the sensation of drowning - a technique best-known for its use on suspected terrorists following the 9/11 attacks.
She said her mother Pauline did nothing to stop the torture.
A changed woman: The girl's mother Pauline Morse was also arrested (mugshot left) for letting the abuse happen but plead guilty last May and agreed to testify in her ex-husband's trial. As of last May, she was still working to regain custody of her two daughters
WHAT IS WATERBOARDING?
Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over someone's face, simulating the sensation of drowning. A cloth is often placed over the captive's face so their breathing is restricted for up to 40 seconds as water is continually poured onto them.
It dates back to the Spanish Inquisition, when it was a preferred interrogation technique as it leaves no marks on the person's body.
The practice can cause extreme pain and distress, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, long-lasting psychological damage and death. It can also cause broken bones as the captive attempts to escape.
In 2007, it emerged that the CIA had waterboarded three Al-Qaeda suspects in 2002 and 2003. The Bush administration allowed it as a form of interrogation by narrowing the definition of torture.
In 2009, President Obama banned its use, but the Department of Defense has refused to say whether it uses the technique as a form of training on its troops.
On one occasion Morse even threatened he 'was going to wrap her in a blanket and do it so that she could not move'. Another time he allegedly told her she 'could go five minutes without brain damage'.
The girl added that Morse would 'sometimes look away while he did it and would become afraid that he would lose track of time and she would die'.
After the alleged torture, she would 'go outside and cry', but Morse would come outside and hold her nose and mouth with his hand, according to court documents.
'He would tell her she was lucky he did not use duct tape,' police noted. 'He would not let go until she lost feeling and collapsed to the ground.'
The girl added that she never knew what she had done to be punished and felt frightened.
Her then 5-year-old sister was also interviewed and said that, although she witnessed the abuse to her sister, she was never targeted 'because she is too young for it'.
At the time of the arrest, police investigated the possibility that Morse was using his stepdaughter for his research.
Both Melvin and Pauline Morse were released on $14,500 bail after their August 2012 arrest, but barred from seeing the children.
Pauline Morse had been allowed visitation when she struck a plea deal last May in which she agreed to testify against her husband in his trial.
At the time she was working to regain custody of her two daughters and her public defender Dean Johnson said she had 'totally changed' following her arrest.
'She has independence of thought...whereas before Melvin made the decisions and she went along,' Mr Johnson said in May.
According to her Facebook, Pauline Morse had worked as a researcher and the treasurer of her ex-husband's non-profit, The Institute for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, but is now a personal assistant at a salon.
Taking work home: At the time of his arrest, police investigated the idea that Morse performed the waterboarding as part of his research
Research: He has written the above books after interviewing children declared clinically dead
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