Loudon, Tennesee - A Loudon County judge has declined to dismiss child neglect charges against a woman and her minister who are accused of contributing to the cancer death of her 15-year-old daughter.
Criminal Court Judge Eugene Eblen ruled in the case of Jacqueline Crank and Ariel Sherman, who prosecutors say was the spiritual father and caregiver of Jessica Crank. The girl died in 2002 with a basketball-sized tumor on her shoulder.
Prosecutors say her mother relied on prayer instead of medicine based on Sherman's advice.
According to The Knoxville News Sentinel, Jacqueline Crank testified at a hearing Monday that she believed God could heal her daughter.
Prosecutor Frank Harvey suggested Sherman is a cult leader, but Crank dismissed that and Sherman has repeatedly denied it.
