Christina Thomas and her mother, Peggy Starr, abused Erin Albin, a developmentally-disabled woman under their care, and abused, starved, and imprisoned Albin’s son between 2006 and 2010. When the boy was rescued at age 6-1/2, he weighed 23 lbs.
The boy was enrolled in preschool in September 2008, and his teachers and paraprofessionals noticed that he was always extremely hungry. Though they were instructed by Thomas to withhold food from him (purportedly because of his allergies and medical conditions), they did not do so. Thomas subsequently withdrew him from school to homeschool him, although there is “no evidence the boy was being home-schooled after leaving New Durham School in December 2009.”
Thomas imprisoned Albin’s son in a dog kennel and leashed him to his bed. She punished him for vomiting by placing him into freezing showers and deprived him of medical care for about two years. She starved him and sometimes force-fed him until he vomited. She punished both the boy and Albin if he referred to Albin as his mother. Starr also beat the boy with a spatula, made him sit naked in a snow bank, and put him naked into a stream. Thomas threatened Albin with a knife and withheld food from her, and both Thomas and Starr controlled Albin and manipulated her into abusing her son.
Other members of the household also included Thomas’s husband, her five children, her boyfriend, and her friend Steven Pearson, who reported the abuse to authorities. Though one of the children told social workers that Thomas beat them with a paddle as punishment, Thomas was able to prevent her children from testifying against her.
Court psychologists diagnosed Thomas with a personality disorder. She was found guilty of first-degree assault and sentenced to 10-30 years in prison, which she is serving in a psychiatric unit. Starr was charged with first-degree assault.
Date: 2010
Location: New Durham, New Hampshire Read More
Posted: May 19, 2014 by clmccracken
3 children of Lev Dzyuba
Three of Lev Dzyuba’s children, ages 15, 10, and 8, were starved and imprisoned for months by their father and his sisters Alina Dzyuba and Natalia Mellon. The children were adopted from Ukraine in 2012. According to the children’s maternal aunt, their mother Larisa died shortly after the adoption, and they were subsequently homeschooled by Alina and Natalia while their father worked. Larisa’s obituary and family photos indicate that the Dzyubas had four children; it is unknown whether the fourth child was also abused.
The children were rescued after an anonymous tip brought authorities to the house. Dzyuba and his sisters were charged with cruelty to children and false imprisonment.
Date: August 14, 2013
Location: Conyers, Georgia Read More
Posted: May 14, 2014 by clmccracken
2 children by Albert and Nancy Cusson
A 13-year-old boy was tortured, beaten, and starved by his grandfather, Albert Cusson, and Cusson’s wife Nancy. A 9-year-old girl who lived with the family was also tortured.
The boy was homeschooled. As punishment for poor performance on his schoolwork, he was forced to kneel in a stress position for 10 days straight and was beaten if he moved. The Cussons made him sleep in a bathtub and fed him only protein shakes. The girl had also received this punishment.
The abuse came to light when the boy ran away and reported it to a neighbor. The Cussons were charged with aggravated child abuse.
Date: March 7, 2012
Location: Lakeland, Florida Read More
Posted: May 14, 2014 by clmccracken
5 children of Sinhue Johnson and Louann Bowers
In 1993, 16-year-old Louann Bowers ran away from home, allegedly to be with her uncle, Sinhue Johnson. Together they had five children who were hidden from the world and raised in squalid conditions without electricity or running water. The children, who included Sinhue Johnson Jr., 13, and Quatonnia “Nae” Johnson, 11, did not have birth certificates and never received medical care. Though Johnson and Bowers claimed the children were homeschooled, they never filed any of the required paperwork and the children said their mother’s teaching was “irregular”. The children were discovered after numerous tips to Children’s Services.
Johnson and Bowers were each convicted on five counts of child endangerment.
Date: August 28, 2009
Location: York, Pennsylvania Read More
Posted: May 13, 2014 by clmccracken
Boy by Christina Thomas and Peggy Starr
Christina Thomas and her mother, Peggy Starr, abused Erin Albin, a developmentally-disabled woman under their care, and abused, starved, and imprisoned Albin’s son between 2006 and 2010. When the boy was rescued at age 6-1/2, he weighed 23 lbs.
The boy was enrolled in preschool in September 2008, and his teachers and paraprofessionals noticed that he was always extremely hungry. Though they were instructed by Thomas to withhold food from him (purportedly because of his allergies and medical conditions), they did not do so. Thomas subsequently withdrew him from school to homeschool him, although there is “no evidence the boy was being home-schooled after leaving New Durham School in December 2009.”
Thomas imprisoned Albin’s son in a dog kennel and leashed him to his bed. She punished him for vomiting by placing him into freezing showers and deprived him of medical care for about two years. She starved him and sometimes force-fed him until he vomited. She punished both the boy and Albin if he referred to Albin as his mother. Starr also beat the boy with a spatula, made him sit naked in a snow bank, and put him naked into a stream. Thomas threatened Albin with a knife and withheld food from her, and both Thomas and Starr controlled Albin and manipulated her into abusing her son.
Other members of the household also included Thomas’s husband, her five children, her boyfriend, and her friend Steven Pearson, who reported the abuse to authorities. Though one of the children told social workers that Thomas beat them with a paddle as punishment, Thomas was able to prevent her children from testifying against her.
Court psychologists diagnosed Thomas with a personality disorder. She was found guilty of first-degree assault and sentenced to 10-30 years in prison, which she is serving in a psychiatric unit. Starr was charged with first-degree assault.
Date: 2010
Location: New Durham, New Hampshire Read More
Posted: May 13, 2014 by rachel
4 Children of David and Angela Lore
David and Angela Lore were charged with child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and animal cruelty when it was discovered that they were leaving their four children, ages 7, 9, 14, and 16, home alone while they went to work during the day and that their home contained starving, deceased, and rotting pets. The family’s yard was also filled with mounds of garbage, and the children lacked proper medical attention. These conditions were discovered in March 2011 by detectives with the sheriff’s office when a complaint was lodged alleging that “the children were living in garbage and that starved pets were dying inside the home.” The Department of Social Services had opened an investigation on the family the previous December. David and Angela homeschooled their children, having registered with the state as “Rock Olive Academy.”
Date: March 2011
Location: Salisbury, North Carolina Read More
Posted: May 13, 2014 by rachel
Girl by Raul Ochoa
Raul Ochoa kept a young female relative confined in his home until she escaped at age 27 in August 2012. Ochoa first raped the girl when she was 12, and insisted on homeschooling her and tightly controlling her. According to news reports, “he had the victim help him build a backyard shed where he would rape her on an ongoing basis.” Ochoa was charged with forcible lewd acts on a child and forcible rape.
Date: August 16, 2012
Location: Richmond, California Read More
Posted: May 13, 2014 by rachel
Alexandru Radita
After police entered his home following reports of a deceased youth, 15-year-old Alexandru Radita was found dead in his bed “amidst conditions that police say were horrific.” Alexandru, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a young age, died of bacterial sepsis resulting from neglect, starvation, and complications resulting from his medical condition. While Alexandru’s death was preventable, police determined that religious beliefs did not play a role. Alexandru was homeschooled, and neighbors said they rarely saw the boy outside. Alexandru’s seven siblings were healthy and well cared for.
Alexandru’s parents, Emil and Rodica Radita, were charged with first degree murder.
Date: May 7, 2013
Location: Calgary, Canada Read More
Posted: May 13, 2014 by rachel
Travis Embrey
In May 2004, Robert Lynn Embrey and Bonnie Gail Embrey abducted their grandson, Travis Embrey, and traveled with him from California to Arizona. The couple were Travis’s guardians and fled with him because they objected to allowing the boy court ordered visits with his mother. Travis was recovered in August 2006 at age 11. During his abduction, Travis was homeschooled by his grandparents.
Date: August 2006
Location: Surprise, Arizona Read More
Posted: May 13, 2014 by clmccracken
Girl by the Jackson family
A 16-year-old girl was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by the six Jackson brothers (Eric, 27; Jon, 25; Matthew, 23; Nathaniel, 21; Benjamin, 19; and Aaron, 18) from the time she was 4 until she was 14. Though the girl was not identified, it appears that she was the brothers’ younger sister. The boys’ parents, John and Nita Jackson, knew about the abuse and did nothing to prevent it. All the Jackson children were homeschooled, although “their level of education seemed low. The oldest, Eric, had difficulty writing his name when he spoke to investigators.”
The abuse came to light when the oldest brother Eric confessed to police in December 2012 on the urging of his pastor. The parents subsequently moved the family to Colorado in an unsuccessful attempt to escape prosecution. Each brother was charged with several felonies and the parents were charged with felony child neglect.
Date: December 2012
Location: Hertford, North Carolina Read More
Posted: May 12, 2014 by clmccracken
Christopher Smithburg
Christopher Smithburg, adopted from the Philippines at age 8, was physically abused by his mother, Susan Smithburg. Christopher, his 17-year-old brother, and his 10-year old sister were homeschooled.
Christopher got into trouble in school, and was ultimately sent to a boarding school and then homeschooled. His mother put an alarm on his bedroom door, and her use of physical discipline escalated over time. On March 26, Christopher lied to his mother about making toast and was punished by being forced to do 1,500 push-ups. After four hours of push-ups, Christopher could not continue, so Smithburg hit him in the head. The next day, Susan struck Christopher again and the boy ran away from home, camping in the woods for six days until authorities found him and he reported the abuse. Christopher’s siblings were also punished by being forced to exercise excessively.
Smithburg was charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect. Christopher was placed in foster care and reportedly did well both at home and at school. The charges against Smithburg were later dropped after she produced documents showing that Christopher was 18 at the time the abuse occurred.
Date: March 27, 2014
Location: Nolensville, Tennessee Read More
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