Despite a lack of proof, a Bristol County judge nevertheless ruled yesterday that an Attleboro religious sect member recently gave birth and ordered her to return to court tomorrow with the infant or face jail time.
No witness in the two-day custody hearing has sworn to have seen a child born to Rebecca and David Corneau, members of a small, controversial sect whose history involving children includes two infant deaths, one of them a Corneau son.
Yet Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth P. Nasif affirmed the state's allegation that Corneau, 33, last month delivered a baby, whom the state worries could be in danger of neglect or abuse.
Nasif now must weigh the rights of a child, perhaps without ultimately knowing it exists, against those of the Corneaus and the duty of the state to protect minors.
The Corneaus have refused to say whether Rebecca Corneau gave birth, citing religious freedom and a woman's right to bodily privacy.
Their lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr., said they again would assert those constitutional protections tomorrow. Since other sect members have served jail time in the past for refusing to cooperate with the court, many believe the Corneaus are willing to be locked up.
''The judge made it clear that if the Corneaus continued'' to not cooperate, ''they would be well-advised to bring their toothbrushes with them on Thursday,'' Carney said.
The Corneaus have lost their four other children to foster care. Corneau gave birth in 2000 to a child while in state prison, and the baby was immediately taken by the state.
Authorities became concerned late last year when Corneau was in court on a separate matter and appeared to be pregnant. She seemed to not be pregnant in a subsequent appearance.
The state Department of Social Services then took action to confirm a birth. Nasif this month granted the agency temporary custody of the presumptive baby and extended the order yesterday.
''I personally observed her at the last trial, and she was pregnant,'' said John J. Rego, court-appointed attorney for the presumptive baby. ''I just hope the child is OK.''
Jacques Robidoux, the leader of the sect, known as The Body, and his wife, Karen, are scheduled to stand trial in March, accused of the murder of their 10-month-old son, Samuel, who prosecutors say was starved to death.
The body of Samuel was found in October 2000 after he was secretly buried in Maine alongside his cousin Jeremiah, the Corneaus' baby who may have been stillborn.
The case has confounded child protection specialists, who have said Nassif's decisions are unusual given the lack of evidence, and women's rights advocates reluctant to defend Corneau's right to bodily privacy because of her past.
''I believe fully in a woman's right to choose, but I also believe that we need to protect living children,'' said Jane Cerilli, cofounder of Four Women Inc., an Attleboro women's health clinic.