The children were removed from the Ohio home, and Jonathan Parr, 37, and Jacqueline Coleman, 32, were arrested on suspicion of child endangerment
An Ohio couple has been arrested after allegedly locking their children in cages, preventing them from eating and forcing them to live in deplorable conditions.
Jonathan Parr, 37, and Jacqueline Coleman, 32, were arrested on charges of child endangerment on Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Licking County Sheriff’s Office said in a Wednesday, Oct. 14 press release.
PEOPLE reached out to an attorney for Parr, but did not immediately receive a response.
The couple was taken into custody following a child endangerment investigation in Etna Township after detectives with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a home in the 13000 block of National Road SW. The warrant was obtained after the sheriff’s office received a referral from the county’s Child Protective Services.
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A criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE stated that Coleman was the mother of all nine children, while Parr was the father to seven.
In total, 12 people between the ages of 1 and 64 years old lived at the home, LSCO said.
“Part of the disclosure from the children was the abuse. 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 situation. it was reported that they would sometimes have to stand there all day,” LCSO Captain Jay Cook told WBNS.
The criminal complaint alleged that the abuse went back as far as April 2023.
Coleman and Parr “unlawfully, did administer corporal punishment or other physical disciplinary measure, or physically restrain the child in a cruel manner or for a prolonged period, which punishment, discipline, or restraint was excessive under the circumstances and created a substantial risk of serious physical harm,” the complaint alleges.
The alleged offenses occurred on various dates between April 2023 and the time of their arrest.
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According to the complaint, “The Licking County Sheriff’s Office received a referral involving physical abuse and deplorable living conditions involving 9 juveniles,” who were all under the age of 13.
The referral “outlined physical abuse, including failure to provide food and water, insufficient living space, and juveniles being forced to stand for hours with nails between their toes and locked behind cages or barriers,” the complaint reads.
When LCSO deputies arrived, they “discovered deplorable living conditions and a bug infestation, including inadequate sleeping arrangements and bedding for the juveniles” at the Etna Township home, according to the complaint.
Parr and Coleman are being held on $150,000 bond.
9 Kids Found Living in ‘Deplorable’ Home Were Locked in Cages and Forced to Stand with ‘Nails Between Their Toes’ for Hours: Police The children were removed…