A real nightmare was revealed in a house in Fort White, about 60 kilometers northwest of Gainesville in Florida USA: Nine children, aged 7 to 16 years, suffered horrible abuses by their own family. According to a statement from the County County office of Columbia, the children were locked under bunk beds with screwed wooden boards and receiving vinegar spraying on the face as a method of punishment.
Florida authorities arrested four people: Brian and Jill Griffeth, as well as Dallin Griffeth (21 years old) and Liberty Griffeth (19 years). All four are accused of abuse of minors with aggravating circumstances.
Authorities point out that all children were removed from home by court.
Wood, incarceration, humiliation
According to the sheriff’s announcement, it all started after a member of a local church. The case came to light when one of the children was found by functional shock at a religious camp. Immediately there were suspicions of inhumane treatment by the Griffeth family. On July 3, the authorities have removed nine children from home.
The revelations are shocking: The adoptive children were locked in their rooms, accepted sticks with sticks, vinegar spraying, were forbidden to attend school and learning and writing, while they were forced to lie about what was happening at home. A child was alleged to have been “imprisoned” under a bed with screwed wood, while a girl was forced to lie on the floor and her mother pressed on her a board, causing her pain and wounds.
During the first visit of social services, adoptive children did homework while biological played or watched television. None of the adoptive children knew his full name or his date of birth. A tenth child, hosted by the family, was then in Arizona, where she was found a body and safe by local police.
Arrests and questions about adoptions
Following children’s deposits, the four adults were arrested on July 22 and were detained, with a $ 500,000 guarantee for each. Children have now been put under the protection of the competent authorities.
Social services are now investigating the legality of some of the adoptions, especially a child for which no relevant records have been found in Arizona. According to authorities, thanks to the law on mandatory reporting of suspicion of abuse in Florida, the research began and these children were saved by what was described as a “home of horror”.