LANCASTER, Ohio — An Ohio man who was caring for his disabled younger brother has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for punching him and threatening to slice off his genitals to “push the gay out of him.”
Lawrence L. Featheroff, 38, pleaded guilty to attempted complicity to commit felonious assault and abduction, both third-degree felonies, reports the Columbus Dispatch.
Featheroff admitted to abusing his brother, 26-year-old Jason A. Meyers, in the home they shared with Featheroff’s girlfriend and an aunt and uncle. Detectives said Meyers is developmentally disabled but reasonably high-functioning.
Meyers had gone to live with his brother after he had been abused in a group home, according to testimony.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Meyers told police that his brother; the brother’s girlfriend, Jamie R. Smith; and a family friend, Brent M. Disbennet, had hit him repeatedly, allowed him to eat only once a day and made him run up and down a hill carrying a heavy railroad tie.
Featheroff said he “wanted to toughen him up to push the gay out of him and make him a normal person,” according to testimony by Detective Brian Lowe.
Article continues below
Meyers and Featheroff are among eight siblings who all were taken from their mother as children and sent to live with different foster families, and since reunited as adults.
Meyers now lives in adult foster care.
