Corneau case dismissed

Sun Chronicle/September 17, 2002

Attleboro -- Ending a child welfare case that went all the way to the state's highest court, a local juvenile court judge has dismissed a petition against a local couple who are members of a controversial religious sect.

The ruling by Judge Kenneth P. Nasif to dismiss the child welfare petition against David and Rebecca Corneau comes after nine months of complex legal wrangling pitting the couple's right to privacy against the state's right to protect children.

The couple, members of a small religious sect known as "The Body'' went to jail for four months rather than cooperate with Nasif regarding the circumstances around Rebecca Corneau's pregnancy last year.

The ruling is also anti-climatic coming after a grand jury - which was able to hear more evidence -- determined in July that there was no evidence that Rebecca gave birth to a living baby and no evidence of a crime.