MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — A 20-year-old who pleaded guilty to following his mother's orders to torture his 15-year-old brother was sentenced Monday.
Paul Ferguson was sentenced to 30 to 100 years by Judge Matthew Kacel. Ferguson pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse in December. He also testified against his mother, Shanda Vander Ark, during her trial last year.
Vander Ark was given a life sentence for torturing and ultimately killing her son, Timothy Ferguson.
Back in July 2022, police responded to the family home in Norton Shores and found Timothy dead. Officers said Timothy was emaciated and weighed only 69 pounds. His body also showed signs of hypothermia.
According to Paul, Timothy was forced to live in a small closet in their basement. A detective showed pictures of the closet to the court, indicating that the only objects in it were a blue tarp and an Amazon box. Police say the room had an overwhelming odor of urine and feces.
Paul testified that handcuffs and zip ties were used to restrict Timothy's movement, while cameras and motion sensors were used to monitor him, both in the closet and the bathroom. Shanda and Paul often discussed ways to keep him uncomfortable, like forcing him to stand facing a wall for hours at a time or doing wall sits.
Timothy was punished by being fed Carolina Reaper hot sauce, either on pieces of bread or poured directly into his mouth, which Paul admitted to doing to his younger brother.
Paul said he occasionally placed Timothy in a bathtub of cold water, including the day before he died for more than nine hours. Texts reveal Timothy was also forced at times to run up and down stairs while Paul chased him.
All of this, Paul says, was per Shanda's orders, claiming low self-esteem made him want to make his mom proud.
During Paul's sentencing, prosecuting attorney Matt Roberts said Paul's childhood was marked with abuse and neglect, and that made him predisposed to following Vander Ark's orders. He also said Paul appeared to be a bully at times and that the court had a "difficult balancing act" in his sentencing.
Paul's attorney Joshua EldenBrady argued Paul was not the one giving instructions to torture Timothy, and that Vander Ark was taking advantage of him. He said Paul had been told throughout his life that he was not supposed to talk about what happened at home.
He also argued that Timothy being listed as underfed at 18 months old showed a pattern of neglect from Vander Ark.
"The difference between Timothy and Paul was that Paul was useful. Timothy wasn't. At least not to their mother," EldenBrady said. "Timothy was treated the way he was because he wasn't useful, that's how children in their mother's household were treated if they weren't useful. And I believe at some level, some part of Paul understood that."
Paul spoke during the hearing, saying that he would never feel better about what happened because Timothy was "still gone."
"I ask the judge for nothing more than mercy and fairness, to offer me compassion so I might learn from him," he said. "I only hope to better myself in the coming days and serve my time with what little honor I have left.”
Before issuing Paul's sentence, Judge Kacel said Paul appeared to be presenting a "careful, manipulative story" since the beginning of the trial, including during his testimony against his mother, where he repeatedly said he was following her orders.
"Mr. Ferguson, I think you are a product of your environment, but I don't believe you that you're sorry, I don't. I don't think you have empathy, I don't think you have any emotion whatsoever," Kacel said. "That's what really scares me. I think you're sorry that you're here. I think you're sorry you got caught."
He also addressed the argument that Paul was only following Vander Ark's instructions and was not to blame for Timothy's torture.
"I think you're just as bad, if not worse. If not worse.," Kacel said. "You could've gone to a neighbor and said, 'Hey, my mom's abusing him,' you could've grabbed him and got him out of there, you could've done any number of things to stop this. And you chose not to. Your own brother."
He expressed concerns that Paul would not get help during his time in prison and that he may present a danger to the public. He said the child abuse charge Paul faced does not take into consideration the "long, sustained torture" that Timothy experienced.
Kacel said he believed Vander Ark used Paul to enact the torture on Timothy because Paul was "predisposed" to torturing Timothy independent of Vander Ark's orders.
"I think Mr. Ferguson walked through that door and was happy to be the enforcer, was happy to be, and continued to torture his brother over and over and over and over until he was a shell of a person," he said. "Until he was dead."
Paul was sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison. He will receive a credit of 592 days for the time he has already served in jail.
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