ATTLEBORO - Two members of a religious sect were sent back to jail on Wednesday after again refusing to answer a judge's questions about a baby state welfare officials believe may be in danger.
Rebecca and David Corneau appeared before Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Nasif to face questions about the status of a baby they say Rebecca miscarried in November. Because they have not given more information or provided proof, Juvenile Judge Kenneth Nasif had them jailed for contempt of court.
The Department of Social Services believes the Corneaus may be hiding the baby, and that it may be endangered because their religious beliefs reject modern medicine.
J.W. Carney Jr., the Corneaus' lawyer, said the couple ``did not produce a child (on Wednesday) because no child has ever existed.''
``The situation that parents can be held in prison indefinitely because of their failure to produce a child that does not exist sounds like a situation that could only occur in Orwell's '1984,''' he said, ``But that is what is happening in this case.''
The Corneaus have other children in state custody.
A son of the Corneaus' who died during a home birth in 1999 was secretly buried in the woods of Maine, alongside an infant cousin who prosecutors say was starved to death by other members of the sect. The Corneaus have not been charged in the death of their son. Three other sect members face charges in the death of the other boy.
``We would like to see this resolved in a manner that will ensure the safety and well-being of any children who are being cared for by the Corneaus or other members of their group,'' DSS spokeswoman Carol Yelverton said.
The Corneaus return to court June 4.