WHITEVILLE, N.C. (WECT) – A mother faces a misdemeanor child abuse charge after being accused of enlisting her 12-year-old son to beat his own brother in attempt to “beat the gay away.”
According to a Whiteville police report, the 15-year-old alleged victim told officers that his mother, Mary Gowans, had his 12-year-old brother strike him repeatedly. He also said that he was instructed not to fight back. Gowans then reportedly made the teen strip down to his underwear and struck him with a belt across his body. According to police, they found a large abrasion on his back.
Gowans claims her son’s allegations are false and that he was intoxicated when talking to police. She went on to say that she would never harm her child despite objecting to his lifestyle. Oddly enough, she admitted to beating the same son in an attempt to stop him from visiting a gay man whom she heard had molested him. She justified that beating by saying she was only trying to protect her son.
Gowans went on to accuse her older son of hitting the younger one. As a result, she told police she instructed the younger one to hit him back.