BOSTON, USA - A judge on Wednesday ordered two members of a religious sect that rejects mainstream medicine to hand over their newborn to the state or go to jail.
Massachusetts Appeals Court Justice Janis M. Berry said David and Rebecca Corneau would remain free until at least Friday while they appeal her ruling.
Two newborns belonging to members of the sect - including one of the Corneaus' other children - have died. No one has been charged in the death of the Corneaus' son, but three sect members have been charged with starving the other baby to death.
The couple has refused to acknowledge they have had another child, but witnesses say Rebecca Corneau appeared pregnant several months ago. State officials believe the couple is hiding the baby so the state won't take custody.
The Corneaus' attorney, J.W. Carney, said he immediately filed an appeal of Berry's ruling. He said he worries the state will never allow the Corneaus to raise children because of their religious beliefs.
``The government doesn't even give the Corneaus a chance to care for their child,'' Carney said.
The couple's other four children have been taken from them and placed with relatives who are not sect members. Other members of the sect, which is called ``The Body,'' have also had children taken from them.
David A.F. Lewis, an attorney appointed by the court to represent the Corneaus' newborn, said he would have preferred if the judge had not allowed any more time for appeal.
``The threat to the child is current and ongoing, and so any delay should be cause for concern,'' Lewis said.
David Corneau was one of eight members of the group jailed for refusing to answer questions from a grand jury investigating the 1999 disappearance of his son and the 10-month-old son of another sect member.
After spending 130 days behind bars and winning a promise of immunity for himself, his wife and three other sect members, Corneau led investigators to the bodies of the two dead newborns in a Maine state park.