Sanaa Cunningham (pictured right with her siblings), age 7, died as a result of abuse and neglect by her father, Germayne Cunningham, and her stepmother Lisa Cunningham. Sanaa was homeschooled.
Sanaa’s biological parents, Germayne Cunningham and Sylvia Norwood, married in 2007. Cunningham was a police detective. Their first daughter X. was born in 2007 and Sanaa was born in December 2009. The couple broke up shortly after Sanaa’s birth and exchanged restraining orders; Cunningham was awarded sole custody of the two girls. In August 2015 Cunningham married Lisa Anderson, whose two children from a previous marriage (Cierra Anderson, b. 1997, and G., b. 2002) also joined the family. The Cunninghams later had two children, E. and J., together.
At the time the Cunninghams married, Sanaa attended preschool, where several people told authorities “they had never seen symptoms of abuse, trauma, or behavioral disorders.” However, according to authorities, in August 2015 immediately after the Cunninghams married, Lisa Cunningham began to claim that Sanaa had behavioral issues. On March 4, 2016, child protective services visited the home in response to an anonymous tip. While Sanaa and her siblings denied any abuse, authorities noted Sanaa had a “severe eating disorder” involving incontinence and pica. In April 2016 the Cunninghams pulled Sanaa out of school to homeschool her. In October 2016 child services investigated again, reportedly as a result of an allegation of sexual abuse by Germayne Cunningham’s mother, Valerie Cunningham, but found the complaint unsubstantiated. By December 2016, Lisa Cunningham was disciplining Sanaa by locking her outside wearing only a diaper. That month, Sanaa was diagnosed with schizophrenia and her biological mother, Sylvia Norwood, attempted to visit her but was prevented from doing so by Germayne Cunningham. As a result of this incident, police visited the home and found Sanaa “partially clothed, sitting in a lawn chair in the closed laundry room. Her knees were badly skinned and bandaged. A camera was mounted in the small room.” Sanaa claimed she had injured herself. A child services case was opened on Sanaa’s behalf but she remained in the home.
In January 2017, Sanaa was prescribed an anti-psychotic, and her condition worsened within weeks. When Lisa Cunningham found Sanaa unresponsive in early February, she waited more than 12 hours to get her medical attention. Sanaa died a few hours after being admitted to the hospital. At the time of her death, Sanaa weighed only 45 pounds and she was covered in over 100 cuts and bruises, including an open septic wound on her foot. The Cunninghams confessed to regularly keeping Sanaa immobilized with zip-ties, a straitjacket, and handcuffs, reporting that these measures were necessary for her protection and that of their other children. However, “many of Sanaa’s symptoms were not witnessed by doctors, only reported by her parents.” Pathologists ruled that Sanaa had died of sepsis “because the restraints prevented her from expelling infected fluid from her lungs.” The Cunninghams were charged with child abuse and murder.
Date: February 12, 2017
Location: Goodyear, Arizona Read More
Last Updated: March 21, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
6 Children of Joseph and Samantha Ferguson
A girl, Jane*, was imprisoned, physically abused, and medically neglected by her adoptive parents, Joseph and Samantha Ferguson. The girl’s sister, Jean*, was also imprisoned. The girls’ four siblings were not reported to be abused. All six children were homeschooled.
Jean and Jane, biological sisters both adopted by the Fergusons, “were undergoing trauma therapy for sexual and physical abuse in their prior home.” The Fergusons disciplined all their children by striking them with a hand or a wooden spoon. Jane was also punished by being forced to stand in a dark utility closet. Samantha Ferguson soon began to handcuff or duct tape Jane’s hands during these punishments. She also kept Jane handcuffed to a bed for several hours each day and bound her hands during a car ride. She covered Jane’s mouth with duct tape. Furthermore, the Fergusons stopped giving Jane her ADHD medication “and halted her in person therapy due to their religious beliefs that they could pray away [her] problems.” Samantha Ferguson also forced Jean to handcuff Jane and forced Jean to stand in a utility closet until she “gave her life to Jesus”. Joseph Ferguson was aware of and approved of the abuse.
The abuse came to light when investigators received a phone tip in October 2018. Jane disclosed the abuse in an interview, but the girls were determined to be safe and left in the Fergusons’ custody. After the investigation was passed to another agency due to a conflict of interest, the girls were removed from the Fergusons’ custody. The Fergusons were charged with endangering the welfare of a child and false imprisonment.
*not their real names
Date: October 10, 2018
Location: Corsica, Pennsylvania Read More
Posted: March 10, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
2 Children of James and Tina Harbert
Two boys—C.H., b. 2003; and J.H., b. 2005—were beaten and starved by their parents, James and Tina Harbert (pictured). The boys were homeschooled. The Harberts’ daughter was not reported to be abused.
James Harbert used a 2×4, a dog leash, and his fists to beat the boys multiple times a week for as long as they could remember. The injuries inflicted to their buttocks were so severe that they could not sit down or walk normally and they had to wear diapers to contain the bleeding. One beating was so bad that J.H. spent 11 days in the hospital. C.H. attempted suicide because the pain was so severe. Harbert also choked the children until they passed out, deprived them of food for days, and forced them to sleep in the basement dog kennels. In 2009 C.H. went to school with a black eye and child services investigated. Tina Harbert lied to hospital personnel about C.H.’s injuries. Sometime later, the Harberts began homeschooling the children, ostensibly in order to use their labor for their dog kennel business. Tina Harbert also beat the boys with a 2×4 and occasionally dressed their wounds or gave them pain medication, but made no effort to get them medical care. By contrast, she told investigators she did not abuse her dogs “because they did not lie to her or misbehave.”
The abuse came to light in September 2015 when C.H. was sent to live with his maternal grandparents, who noticed the injuries to his buttocks and reported them to child services. Investigators then checked the other children and found that J.H. had “large, open, and weeping wounds across the entire length of his buttocks.” The boys were hospitalized; a month later, J.H.’s wounds still had not healed. James Harbert pleaded guilty to child abuse and was sentenced to 20-40 years in prison. Tina Harbert was found guilty of child abuse and was sentenced to 5-20 years in prison.
Date: September 20, 2015
Location: Spring Arbor, Michigan Read More
Posted: March 10, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
Sanaa Cunningham
Sanaa Cunningham (pictured right with her siblings), age 7, died as a result of abuse and neglect by her father, Germayne Cunningham, and her stepmother Lisa Cunningham. Sanaa was homeschooled.
Sanaa’s biological parents, Germayne Cunningham and Sylvia Norwood, married in 2007. Cunningham was a police detective. Their first daughter X. was born in 2007 and Sanaa was born in December 2009. The couple broke up shortly after Sanaa’s birth and exchanged restraining orders; Cunningham was awarded sole custody of the two girls. In August 2015 Cunningham married Lisa Anderson, whose two children from a previous marriage (Cierra Anderson, b. 1997, and G., b. 2002) also joined the family. The Cunninghams later had two children, E. and J., together.
At the time the Cunninghams married, Sanaa attended preschool, where several people told authorities “they had never seen symptoms of abuse, trauma, or behavioral disorders.” However, according to authorities, in August 2015 immediately after the Cunninghams married, Lisa Cunningham began to claim that Sanaa had behavioral issues. On March 4, 2016, child protective services visited the home in response to an anonymous tip. While Sanaa and her siblings denied any abuse, authorities noted Sanaa had a “severe eating disorder” involving incontinence and pica. In April 2016 the Cunninghams pulled Sanaa out of school to homeschool her. In October 2016 child services investigated again, reportedly as a result of an allegation of sexual abuse by Germayne Cunningham’s mother, Valerie Cunningham, but found the complaint unsubstantiated. By December 2016, Lisa Cunningham was disciplining Sanaa by locking her outside wearing only a diaper. That month, Sanaa was diagnosed with schizophrenia and her biological mother, Sylvia Norwood, attempted to visit her but was prevented from doing so by Germayne Cunningham. As a result of this incident, police visited the home and found Sanaa “partially clothed, sitting in a lawn chair in the closed laundry room. Her knees were badly skinned and bandaged. A camera was mounted in the small room.” Sanaa claimed she had injured herself. A child services case was opened on Sanaa’s behalf but she remained in the home.
In January 2017, Sanaa was prescribed an anti-psychotic, and her condition worsened within weeks. When Lisa Cunningham found Sanaa unresponsive in early February, she waited more than 12 hours to get her medical attention. Sanaa died a few hours after being admitted to the hospital. At the time of her death, Sanaa weighed only 45 pounds and she was covered in over 100 cuts and bruises, including an open septic wound on her foot. The Cunninghams confessed to regularly keeping Sanaa immobilized with zip-ties, a straitjacket, and handcuffs, reporting that these measures were necessary for her protection and that of their other children. However, “many of Sanaa’s symptoms were not witnessed by doctors, only reported by her parents.” Pathologists ruled that Sanaa had died of sepsis “because the restraints prevented her from expelling infected fluid from her lungs.” The Cunninghams were charged with child abuse and murder.
Date: February 12, 2017
Location: Goodyear, Arizona Read More
Posted: March 10, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
Damon Decree, Jr.
Damon Decree, Jr. (pictured), age 13, was murdered by his mother, Shana Decree, and his older sister, Dominique Decree. Damon was homeschooled at the time of his death.
Damon lived with his mother; older siblings Naa’Irah Smith (age 25), Dominique Decree (age 19), and Joshua (age 17); maternal aunt Jamilla Campbell; and Campbell’s twin 9-year-old daughters Imani and Erika Allen. Damon attended Morrisville Middle School, where he had many friends and founded a Kindness Club to prevent bullying, until early 2019. Family members reported that the family had recently become involved with an online cult and were talking about demons. Damon’s father, Damon Decree, Sr., said “he had been calling children’s services and the police” for approximately a month before Damon’s death to report concerns about the family.
In early February 2019, Shana Decree withdrew Damon from school, telling the superintendent that she planned to homeschool him and that she would follow up with a plan for Damon’s education. Instead, approximately two weeks later, Decree and Dominique murdered Damon, Naa’Irah, Jamilla, Imani, and Erika. The murders were discovered when authorities arrived for a welfare check. Shana Decree claimed that the murders were part of a murder-suicide pact. Shana and Dominique Decree were each charged with five counts of homicide and conspiracy.
Date: February 25, 2019
Location: Morrisville, Pennsylvania Read More
Last Updated: April 17, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
Olivia Farrell
Olivia Farrell (pictured), b. around 2001, was beaten and imprisoned by her adoptive parents, Neil and Janet Farrell. Olivia was homeschooled. Olivia’s three older sisters, who were also adopted, were not reported to be abused.
The Farrells began caring for Olivia when she was 5 months old. Janet Farrell had previously been a certified teacher and homeschooled Olivia K-12. The family were faithful attendees and donors at Life Bible Church in Holly Springs, GA, and their oldest adopted daughter Ashlyn was a missionary to Papua New Guinea. According to the Farrells, Olivia had Reactive Attachment Disorder as well as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which allowed them to maintain active guardianship over Olivia even though she was an adult.
The Farrells beat Olivia’s buttocks and feet with 10-inch industrial glue sticks, taking care to hide the bruises. As punishment for non-aggressive behavior, they kept Olivia locked in her room for weeks and months at a time with limited food and only sometimes a bucket for a toilet. “All furniture in the room would be moved out, [and the Farrells] would also monitor Olivia’s activity with video and audio recorders.”
The abuse came to light when Olivia escaped from the Farrells’ home and was declared missing and possibly endangered. During the course of the search, investigators became suspicious of the Farrells’ behavior. Olivia was found the next day, having travelled approximately 15 miles on foot, whereupon she reported the abuse. The Farrells were charged with cruelty to children, false imprisonment, and exploitation of a disabled adult.
Date: June 23, 2018
Location: Bent Tree Community, Pickens County, Georgia Read More
Last Updated: February 23, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
Girl by Ryan Adams
Ava*, b. 1999, was sexually abused by singer/songwriter Ryan Adams (pictured) when she was between 14 and 16 years old. Ava was homeschooled.
Ava began playing bass as a child. “By 12, she was road-tripping with her family to Manhattan for gigs with established musicians.” She was homeschooled due to bullying. When she was 13, her father died. When she was 14, she met Adams on social media. The two began an online sexual relationship involving over 3,000 text messages over the course of two years, some including explicit photos of Ava, and phone sex by video call where Adams exposed himself. Adams told Ava to keep their interactions secret. Unhappy with the idea that she would have to have sex with Adams to succeed in her music career, Ava quit music.
The FBI has opened an inquiry into Ava’s abuse.
*Ava is her middle name
**Note that while this case does not involve abuse of a homeschooled child by a parent, guardian, or other relative, it does provide evidence that homeschooling does not prevent sexual abuse.
Date: 2013
Location: Ohio Read More
Last Updated: February 13, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
Daughter of Randall Pruitt
A 14-year-old girl, S., was sexually abused for 12 years by her adoptive father, Randall Lee Pruitt (pictured). The girl’s mother, Christine Pruitt, knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it. S.’s three younger siblings were not reported to be abused. S. was homeschooled.
S. and her family moved from Lawrenceville, Georgia to their farm in Tennessee in December 2018. S. was “a lover of horses, her pet raccoon and other family farm animals.” On Christmas Eve, S. began chatting with 31-year-old Bryan Rogers on the online gaming platform Roblox. Within days, S. had disclosed the ongoing sexual abuse to Rogers, as well as her suicidal thoughts. She also reported that Pruitt had shot and skinned her dog and that he carried guns. Rather than reporting the abuse to the authorities, Rogers insisted that S. capture video evidence of the abuse, which she did on January 10, 2019.
A few days later, S. ran away with Rogers, who drove from Wisconsin to pick her up. S.’s parents reported her missing, with Pruitt stating “It’s like having your soul ripped out of your body.” The abuse came to light when S. and Rogers mailed the video of the assault to the FBI office in St. Louis, Missouri. Authorities discovered S. hiding in Rogers’s mother’s basement. Pruitt was charged with rape and Rogers was charged with sexual exploitation of a child.
Date: January 14, 2019
Location: Madisonville, Tennessee Read More
Posted: January 26, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
Boy by Joel Love
A boy was beaten by his relative, Joel Ronald Lawrence Love (pictured). The boy was homeschooled.
The boy was contacting his friends on social media. When Love discovered this, he “grabbed [the boy] by the throat, choked him, repeatedly hit his head against the floor, pushed him up against a fridge and hit him in the leg with a hammer.”
The abuse came to light when the boy contacted police to report the assault. Love was charged with aggravated child abuse.
Date: January 24, 2019
Location: St. George, Utah Read More
Last Updated: July 3, 2021 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
Mason Jordan
Mason Jordan, age 7, was murdered by his mother, Tashina Jordan. Mason was homeschooled.
Mason had multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus. He used a wheelchair and a feeding tube and was partially blind and nonverbal. Mason was homeschooled after Jordan decided “that public elementary school wasn’t right for him and came up with elaborate lesson plans tailored to his abilities.” The family lived with Jordan’s mother after Mason’s father left when he was an infant. Jordan served on the board of directors of the Central Oregon Disability Support Network.
In August 2018, Jordan shot and killed Mason in their home and then unsuccessfully attempted suicide. Jordan was charged with aggravated murder.
Date: August 20, 2018
Location: Bend, Oregon Read More
Last Updated: January 10, 2019 by clmccracken Leave a Comment
4 Children of Patrick and Angel Henderson
Two children, a 14-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, were imprisoned, starved, and beaten by their adoptive parents, Patrick and Angel Henderson (pictured). The children were homeschooled. Their siblings, a 13-year-old and a 6-year-old, were not reported to be similarly abused.
From 2007 to 2019, the Hendersons “have been investigated for child abuse or neglect 18 times…, though only a 2014 allegation was substantiated.” The children last attended school in the Wakefield Community School District during the 2015-2016 school year, but were then pulled from school to be homeschooled. The children were kept locked in a bedroom with an alarm and were only allowed to leave to use the bathroom and visit the doctor. If the alarm went off, Angel Henderson would choke, kick, and beat them with a bat and belt. They were fed only one meal a day and were only allowed to eat if they finished their schoolwork, “which consisted of worksheets.” The children were forced to sleep in homemade straitjackets—one-piece pajamas with the legs sewn together from crotch to ankles and the arms sewn closed and attached to the back, with stocking caps tied over their heads and faces.
The abuse came to light when the boy ran away from home and the Hendersons reported him missing. When authorities found him, he disclosed the abuse to them. The Hendersons were charged with child abuse.
Date: January 9, 2019
Location: Wakefield, Nebraska Read More
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