Couple tortured 5 adopted kids in Ohio, officials say. ‘Worse than prisoners of war’
.png "Officials say an Ohio couple tortured their five adopted children at this home.")
An Ohio couple is facing charges after officials say they tortured their five adopted children.
The mother and father, whom McClatchy News is not naming to protect the children, are each charged with five counts of child endangering and face up to 18 years in prison, according to a June 25 news release from the Clermont County prosecutor’s office.
An investigation into the father led to him being convicted of engaging in sexual relations with another adopted son, who was an adult at the time, according to officials.
Through that investigation, officials came across videos that officials said are “too graphic to describe” and show the couple abusing and torturing their five adopted children, who are biological siblings.
“The videos of these undernourished and naked children huddled up in a locked room in the basement, on the stone-cold basement floor like a pile of puppies trying to stay together to keep warm, are nothing short of gut-wrenching,” Prosecuting Attorney Mark J. Tekulve said in the release.
The couple initially fostered the children before adopting them. Since being in the couple’s care, the children have been “in and out of the hospital for various reasons” such as bruising, internal bleeding and bleach burns, officials said. However, the parents always had an explanation for their injuries.
Authorities said the evidence shows that the children, who were all born with medical issues, were treated “worse than prisoners of war in their own home.”
“Instead of being properly nurtured and cared for, they were traumatized, neglected, and abused,” officials said.
Attorney information for the parents was not available. The children’s current condition was not listed, but WCPO reported they were removed from the home in February.
Clermont County is just east of downtown Cincinnati.
This story was originally published June 26, 2024 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Couple tortured 5 adopted kids in Ohio, officials say. ‘Worse than prisoners of war’."
