Nine kids have been rescued from a bug-infested Ohio home where they were allegedly crammed into tiny dog cages and tortured for hours by their dad as their mom watched on.
The youngsters – ages 1 to 13 – were allegedly abused for three years inside the Licking County trailer park where they were forced to “endure deplorable living conditions” at the hands of cruel parents Jonathan Parr, 37, and Jacquelyn Coleman, 32.
The children were rescued Tuesday along with three dogs from the house that had a “bug infestation” — with some of the kids living in a shed, according to court documents seen by the Columbus Dispatch.
They were “forced to stand for hours with nails between their toes and locked behind cages or barriers,” investigators said, noting that the cages were not ones for “big-sized dogs.”
“Sometimes it was punishment. Sometimes it was – for no good reason at all – where they would have to stand with their back against the wall, like a wall-squat type situation,” Jay Cook, Licking County Sheriff’s Office, said.
“It was reported that they would sometimes stand there all day.”
Four of the kids lived with Parr and Coleman in a shed, while the others lived in a mobile home on the Licking County site.
Parr, the biological father of seven of the children, has been charged with child endangerment and also subjecting two non-biological kids to abuse. He was arrested at the property.
His 32-year-old girlfriend, Coleman – the biological mom of six of the kids – allegedly knew the abuse was happening and allowed it to continue, WCMH reported.
She was busted during a traffic stop after she bolted the scene when cops arrived, according to authorities
The dad strongly denied abusing the children.
“It’s not true,” he said as he appeared in court Wednesday. “I did not keep anyone in cages or any of the other charges. I love my kids. I would die for my kids.”
Coleman and Parr are set to appear in court next on Oct. 23.
