Ex-Principal, Deputy Face Trial Over Abuse Charges
An Orange County judge Monday ordered a former elementary school principal and her husband, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant, to stand trial on a felony charge related to emotional abuse of the couple’s teenage son.
Superior Court Judge Derek G. Johnson ruled that prosecutors have enough evidence to try Deborah Machnick, 46, and Grady Machnick, 45, on a felony conspiracy charge and a misdemeanor count of child endangerment.
The Yorba Linda couple are accused of forcing Grady Machnick’s son from a prior marriage to sleep outside on a dog blanket as punishment for disobeying them. They deny breaking any laws.
Deborah Machnick, reassigned to an administrative job with the Walnut Valley Unified School District, also told police she sent her stepson to middle school with dog feces in his backpack--punishment for not cleaning up after the family dog.
The boy is now living with a foster family in Yorba Linda.
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