A Philadelphia couple who believed in faith-healing were sentenced on Wednesday to three and a half to seven years in prison for the death of a second child who never saw a doctor despite being stricken with pneumonia. Herbert, 45, and Catherine Schaible, 44, defied a court order to get medical care for their children after their two-year-old son, Kent, died in 2009. Instead, they tried to comfort and pray over eight-month-old Brandon last year as he, too, died of treatable pneumonia. Tragic: Herbert, 45, and Catherine Schaible, 44, defied a court order to get medical care for their children after their two-year-old son, Kent, died in 2009. They tried to comfort and pray over eight-month-old Brandon last year as he, too, died of treatable pneumonia. Today they were sentenced to prison time . 'My religious beliefs are that you . should pray, and not have to use medicine. But because it is against the . law, then whatever sentence you give me, I will accept,' Catherine . Schaible told the judge. She added that her beliefs have since changed. The . Schaibles are third-generation members of an insular Pentecostal . community, the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia, . where they also taught at the church school. They have seven surviving children. Judge . Benjamin Lerner rejected defense claims that their religious beliefs . 'clashed' with the 2011 court order to get annual checkups and call a . doctor if a child became ill. The . order came after a jury convicted them of involuntary manslaughter in . Kent's death, and they were sentenced to 10 years of probation. Sentenced: Catherine Schaible walks from the criminal justice center in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Along with husband Herbert she was given 3.5 to seven years in prison in the death of a second child who was sick but didn't see a doctor . 'April of 2013 wasn't Brandon's time to die,' Lerner said, noting the violence committed throughout human history in the name of religion. 'You've killed two of your children. ... Not God. Not your church. Not religious devotion. You.' Experts say about a dozen U.S. children die in faith-healing cases each year. The Schaibles are the rare couple to lose a second child that way. Their pastor, Nelson Clark, blamed Kent's death on a 'spiritual lack' in the parents' lives, and insisted they would never seek medical care, even if another child was dying. 'It was so foreseeable to me that this was going to happen,' said Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore, who prosecuted both cases. 'Everybody in the system failed these children.' After the first death, she and public defender Mythri Jayaraman agreed that the couple's beliefs were so ingrained that their children remained at risk. They asked the earlier judge to have the family supervised by a Department of Human Services caseworker. Worship: The Schaibles are third-generation members of an insular Pentecostal community, the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia, where they also taught at the church school . Instead, the judge assigned them to probation officers, who are not trained to monitor children's welfare. Pescatore has called Brandon's symptoms 'eerily similar' to Kent's. They included labored breathing and a refusal to eat. In his police statement last year, Herbert Schaible said, 'We believe in divine healing, that Jesus shed blood for our healing and that he died on the cross to break the devil's power.' The Schaibles pleaded no contest to third-degree murder in Brandon's death, and faced a maximum 20- to 40-year term. Pescatore asked for eight to 16 years, while Jayaraman sought less than two years for Catherine Schaible. 'I didn't know what to do when Brandon was sick, because it was much quicker,' said Catherine Schaible, who said he died within a few days. 'The D.A. is actually right. I feel like I failed as a mother because they're not alive.' Herbert Schaible has already served about a year, while his wife has been free on bail. Exit: Catherine Schaible leaves the criminal justice center on Wednesday. The Schaibles pleaded no contest to third-degree murder in Brandon's death, and faced a maximum 20- to 40-year term . A videotape played in court showed . her on a weekly supervised visit, when she brought her children their . favorite meals, along with games and birthday treats. Six . of them are now in foster care, some with relatives. They attend public . schools for the first time, and are getting medical, dental and vision . care. Several now wear glasses. The oldest child, who is 18, sat in court with his grandparents, the family pastor and other supporters. They listened as Herbert Schaible's lawyer called the patriarch 'a good man, a righteous man, a spiritual man.' 'He's still grieving the loss of his two sons,' lawyer Bobby Hoof said.
Herbert, 45, and Catherine Schaible, 44, .
defied an order to get medical care for their children after their .
two-year-old son died in 2009 .
They prayed over eight-month-old Brandon in 2013 as he also died of treatable pneumonia .
Philadelphia couple sentenced to three and a half to seven years in prison .
A Philadelphia couple who believed in faith-healing were sentenced on Wednesday to three and a half to seven years in prison for the death of a second child who never saw a doctor despite being stricken with pneumonia. Herbert, 45, and Catherine Schaible, 44, defied a court order to get medical care for their children after their two-year-old son, Kent, died in 2009. Instead, they tried to comfort and pray over eight-month-old Brandon last year as he, too, died of treatable pneumonia. Tragic: Herbert, 45, and Catherine Schaible, 44, defied a court order to get medical care for their children after their two-year-old son, Kent, died in 2009. They tried to comfort and pray over eight-month-old Brandon last year as he, too, died of treatable pneumonia. Today they were sentenced to prison time . 'My religious beliefs are that you . should pray, and not have to use medicine. But because it is against the . law, then whatever sentence you give me, I will accept,' Catherine . Schaible told the judge. She added that her beliefs have since changed. The . Schaibles are third-generation members of an insular Pentecostal . community, the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia, . where they also taught at the church school. They have seven surviving children. Judge . Benjamin Lerner rejected defense claims that their religious beliefs . 'clashed' with the 2011 court order to get annual checkups and call a . doctor if a child became ill. The . order came after a jury convicted them of involuntary manslaughter in . Kent's death, and they were sentenced to 10 years of probation. Sentenced: Catherine Schaible walks from the criminal justice center in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Along with husband Herbert she was given 3.5 to seven years in prison in the death of a second child who was sick but didn't see a doctor . 'April of 2013 wasn't Brandon's time to die,' Lerner said, noting the violence committed throughout human history in the name of religion. 'You've killed two of your children. ... Not God. Not your church. Not religious devotion. You.' Experts say about a dozen U.S. children die in faith-healing cases each year. The Schaibles are the rare couple to lose a second child that way. Their pastor, Nelson Clark, blamed Kent's death on a 'spiritual lack' in the parents' lives, and insisted they would never seek medical care, even if another child was dying. 'It was so foreseeable to me that this was going to happen,' said Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore, who prosecuted both cases. 'Everybody in the system failed these children.' After the first death, she and public defender Mythri Jayaraman agreed that the couple's beliefs were so ingrained that their children remained at risk. They asked the earlier judge to have the family supervised by a Department of Human Services caseworker. Worship: The Schaibles are third-generation members of an insular Pentecostal community, the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia, where they also taught at the church school . Instead, the judge assigned them to probation officers, who are not trained to monitor children's welfare. Pescatore has called Brandon's symptoms 'eerily similar' to Kent's. They included labored breathing and a refusal to eat. In his police statement last year, Herbert Schaible said, 'We believe in divine healing, that Jesus shed blood for our healing and that he died on the cross to break the devil's power.' The Schaibles pleaded no contest to third-degree murder in Brandon's death, and faced a maximum 20- to 40-year term. Pescatore asked for eight to 16 years, while Jayaraman sought less than two years for Catherine Schaible. 'I didn't know what to do when Brandon was sick, because it was much quicker,' said Catherine Schaible, who said he died within a few days. 'The D.A. is actually right. I feel like I failed as a mother because they're not alive.' Herbert Schaible has already served about a year, while his wife has been free on bail. Exit: Catherine Schaible leaves the criminal justice center on Wednesday. The Schaibles pleaded no contest to third-degree murder in Brandon's death, and faced a maximum 20- to 40-year term . A videotape played in court showed . her on a weekly supervised visit, when she brought her children their . favorite meals, along with games and birthday treats. Six . of them are now in foster care, some with relatives. They attend public . schools for the first time, and are getting medical, dental and vision . care. Several now wear glasses. The oldest child, who is 18, sat in court with his grandparents, the family pastor and other supporters. They listened as Herbert Schaible's lawyer called the patriarch 'a good man, a righteous man, a spiritual man.' 'He's still grieving the loss of his two sons,' lawyer Bobby Hoof said.
three and a half to seven years in prison for the 45, and Catherine Schaible, 44, defied a court order to get medical care for their children after their two-year-old son, Kent, died in 2009. eight-month-old Brandon last year as he, too, died of treatable pneumonia. Tragic: Herbert, 45, to get medical care for their children after their two-year-old son, Kent, died in 2009. They