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In a bizarre case out of Washington, a man was acquitted on assault charges Thursday after branding his family with hot iron letters.
In 2008, Mark Seamands, of Sequim, Wash., branded his three children with 3-inch-by-3-inch “SK” lettering (short for Seamands’ Kids), a move he said helped keep the family together after his divorce. While all three children testified that they wanted to be branded, Seamands still faced charges because his two sons were 13 and 15 years old at the time they made the decision.
“[The verdict] was based on the understanding and the evidence brought forth that there was no struggle, it was not done against their will, there was no maliciousness intended and they were careful in putting it all together to do this,” said jury foreman Arlin Lidstrom to the Peninsula Daily News. The paper says Seamands’ family broke out in applause after the verdict was announced.