Former Harvard staffer gets prison term for stealing and trafficking donated human body parts – Firstpost

A former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling human remains that were donated for scientific research.

Cedric Lodge, 58, admitted to trafficking body parts taken from Harvard’s morgue over a period stretching from 2018 to at least March 2020. According to the US Justice Department, the stolen remains included internal organs, brains, skin, hands, faces and even dissected heads. All these body parts were meant to be used for education and research, as reported by AFP.

Lodge pleaded guilty in May and was formally sentenced on Tuesday. Harvard said he was fired in May 2023, shortly after the investigation came to light.

Not a lone hand

Federal investigators said Lodge didn’t act alone.

He and his wife, Denise Lodge, stole body parts from the medical school near Boston and transported them to their home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, as well as to other locations in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. From there, the remains were shipped to buyers in different states.

Critically, authorities, as quoted by AFP, said the body parts were taken _“_without the knowledge or permission of his employer, the donor, or the donor’s family”.

Denise Lodge, 65, was also sentenced, receiving one year in prison for her role in the operation, the Justice Department said.

Law enforcement officials described the case as particularly disturbing, not just because of the crimes themselves but because of the setting in which they occurred. _“_Today’s sentencing is another step forward in ensuring those who orchestrated and executed this heinous crime are brought to justice,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia field office.

Prosecutors revealed that many of the remains sold by Lodge didn’t stop with a single transaction. Instead, they were resold at a profit, creating a bigger black market for human body parts. Several of those buyers have already been sentenced to jail time, while others are still awaiting sentencing.