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Delaware Supreme Court Rejects Appeal in Waterboarding Case

DOVER, Del. (AP) - The Delaware Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a former pediatrician imprisoned for abusing his female companion's daughter, including "waterboarding" the girl by holding her head under a faucet.

Melvin Morse argued that the trial judge erred in allowing evidence of other uncharged abusive acts against the girl and in granting a request from jurors during deliberations to re-watch videotaped statements of the girl and her younger sister.

But a three-judge panel ruled Thursday that there was no merit to Morse's claims.

The 61-year-old Morse was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of felony reckless endangerment for a bathtub waterboarding, and five misdemeanors.

Morse, who has published articles on paranormal science and near-death experiences involving children, denied that he may have been experimenting on the girl.

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Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.